


A New Beginning

by Sami1997



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Pregnancy, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 43,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22144432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sami1997/pseuds/Sami1997
Summary: What happens when Emma gets her first boyfriends and falls too hard too fast. What will happen when his dark past comes out and bits her. Can she deal with the down fall a what is too come next (TRIGGER WARNING)
Relationships: Baelfire | Neal Cassidy/Emma Swan, Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan, Prince Charming | David Nolan/Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

Emma Swan was a 22-year-old college student studying criminal justice, finishing up her senior year.

Everything in her life, from birth till now had been perfect. She grew up with the most amazing parents, Mary Margaret Blanchard, and David Nolan. Though, many people now call them Snow White and Charming.

When Emma was a little girl, her favorite story was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. When Emma was 5, she thought that her mother looked a lot like Snow White. She had long black hair, was paler than most, and always wore red lipstick. Emma started to call her mother Snow White, and since every Princess needs a Prince, Emma started calling her father Charming.

Soon the entire town was calling them by their daughters cute nicknames, finding the names to bring a small amount of joy to them. Now that Emma is older she understands that her parents are regular people, and not from a fairy tale, though the love they have for each other could be. Emma's parents seemed to love each other more, and more, every day. Emma hoped that one day, she would find a love pure and true as her parents.

She had always believed that there is someone out there for everyone, and she will find hers one day, though she has no idea what to look for.

When Emma was in High School, her parents sat her down to talk about boys and dating. Emma had heard The Talk countless times from her parents and health teacher, but this was a different type of talk. Her parents told her on her 15th birthday that she was old enough to start dating.

On the rare occasion when she was to go on a date there would be rules that she would need to follow. Though Emma didn't have any interest in dating, or even boys. She was more focused on her future and her friends.

When Emma turned 16 her parents jumped for joy when she brought home a boy, but to her mother's dismay and her father's relief, August was just a friend, her gay friend in fact.

Now that Emma is 22, she has found that she tends to stare at boys a bit more and has even begun forming crushes. She first noticed it when she walked into one of her classes about two years ago and saw a cute boy.

He had messy curly brown hair and a dimple on his cheek. She immediately began to like him, though she never spoke a word to him, but would also watch him.

Her friends would always pick on her for it.

One day she was out to coffee with her three best friends, August, Ruby, who she grew up with, and Regina, who was her roommate Freshman year. They hated each other at first, but soon became best friends.

“Just admit it to yourself that you have feelings for him.” August said, causing Emma to jump a little, realizing she was staring at a gorgeous man she saw two years ago, across the café.

“What?” Emma asked, trying to play innocent.

“Every time we come in here, and he is here, all you do is stare at him. Don't get me wrong he's hot, but you can't spend the rest of your life in the shadows." Regina said, taking a sip of her warm apple cider, coffee was never her favorite thing to drink.

“You are one to talk, you are always wearing black, I don't think you have a bright color of anything in your closet.” Emma said, trying to focus on her friends now and not the hot man across the room.

“Can you blame me? Black is my color.” Regina said, stretching out her arms show off her outfit to everyone.

Regina was wearing a black tank top that ties in the front, black leather pants with her favorite pair of black pumps.

“You know, she has a point. Regina always looks hot.” Ruby said, taking a sip of coffee, to receive a wink from Regina.

“So the solution is to raid Regina's closet?” Emma asked, slightly laughing, as she watched Regina's face go from smiling to what a look that could kill.

“Touch my clothes, and I will end you.”

“Yes, your majesty.” Emma said, unable to hold back her laughter.

Whenever Emma laughed, everyone had no choice but to join in. Emma's laughter was contagious, she always knew how to lighten the mood. Soon all four of them were caught up in a small fit of laughter.

“Well, it seems I am right on time for the party.” A deep but pleasant voice came from behind Emma. She turned around to see the man she had been staring at for the past two years standing there, with a heartbreaking grin on his face. “I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt, but it seems as though there is no sugar at my table, mind if I steal yours.”

Ruby was the first to respond. Quickly jumping up from her seat and grabbing the sugar. “Here you are” Ruby said, in a voice much higher than her own. She handed him the bowl of sugar packets and shifted her weight to one side, so she could pop her hip out a bit. “I'm Ruby.” She said sticking out her hand.

Taking her hand the man smiled and said, “My name is Neal.”

“I'm Regina.” Regina said, standing up and shaking his hand, once Ruby made her way back to her seat.

“I'm August.” Neal gave a quick nod of acknowledgment before turning his attention to Emma, who didn't know who to form a proper sentence.

“Emma.” Was all she could spit out.

“Well it was nice to meet all of you. Maybe I will see you guys around more often.” Neal said, turning to walk away, before walking away, he gave Emma another look.

“Well, if you don't go after him, I certainly will.” Ruby said, sitting back in her seat, taking in the view of Neal walking away.

“You practically jumped him here in front of us.” August said, while sneaking his own peak at the man.

“Don't get me wrong, he's cute and all but certainly not my type, though, with a voice of his, I could get down with some phone…”

“Don't finish that sentence, please.” Emma said, practically yelling.

“Oh, looks like I hit a nerve.” Regina said, chuckling slightly to herself. Emma, with her elbows resting on her knees, leaned down, placing her hand in her hands, silently groaning.

“Emma, Sweetie.” August started, moving to the edge of his chair, placing his hand on Emma's knee causing her to look up. “Why are you so nervous? Just go over there and ask if he wants to hang out. Ask him to go to coffee with you sometime. The worst that can happen is he could say no. If he does then we will go to the store, buy your favorite ice cream, and watch overly cheesy chick flicks and cry about how boys suck. Sounds like a plan.”

Emma laughed a little. “If he says yes, can we still buy ice cream and watch chick flicks?” Emma asked.

“Yes, it will be fat free frozen yogurt. Calories are for heartbreaks.” August said smiling.

Emma took a deep breath and looked back at Neal who was closing his laptop and looked like he was going to leave soon. “All right, it's now or never, right?” Emma asked.

“Good luck” Ruby said, giving Emma a wink.

Emma stood up from her chair and began making her way over to Neal. On her short walk over to him, Emma could help but feel her entire body shake. She has never been this nervous.

Not even when she got the lead in her school play, or when she had to present a paper or project in front of her classmates. She felt like her internal organs were shaking from how nervous she was.

Just go up there and talk to him. Emma thought to herself. Just like ripping off a band aid. The sooner you do it, the sooner you will know how he feels about you. No more wondering if he likes you.

By the time Emma had convinced herself that she could do this, she had reached Neal. He was putting his laptop into his bag, when he felt a presence near him. Looking up he noticed Emma standing there, fidgeting slightly with her finger.

“Hey! It's Emma, right?” Emma shook her head yes, immediately looking down, losing all of her confidence that she built on her way to him. “Listen, I don't mean to be rude but I do have class in the next 20 minutes, so I have to get going.” Neal said, placing his bag strap over his shoulder and started walking towards the door.

In her last attempt to talk Emma was quickly searching her brain for words. “Coffee!” Emma nearly shouted, granting her a couple of looks from people sitting nearby. Neal turned around, slightly surprised.

“What?”

“Coffee. Would you like to get coffee?” Emma spit out. Her heart was pounding, and she was pretty sure she forgot how to breathe. Neal gave a small laugh and took a couple of steps towards Emma.

“Well, I do have class soon, so I can't today, but…” Neal reached into his backpack and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.

“Here is my number. Text me your number and I will let you know when I am free.” He handed Emma the paper, which she took with shaky hands. “I'll see you around, Emma.” Neal said, giving her a wink, before turning around and leaving the café.

Emma stood there for a moment, in complete shock. Did she really ask Neal out? Did she get his number? Did he really just wink at her?

Emma made her way back over to her friends, who are all sitting in their same seat, but all leaning towards Emma, with giant smiles on their faces.

“So, how did it go?” Ruby asked, her smiling couldn't have been bigger.

“Oh please, he handed her a piece of paper, he said yes.” Regina said rolling her eyes, but even she couldn't keep a smile off of her face.

“When are you guys going out?” August asked, as Emma sat down, never taking her eyes off the paper.

“We...we don't have a day picked yet. I am going to have to text him, for him to have my number, then he will tell me when he is free.” Emma finally looked up at her friends and couldn't contain her own smile.

“Aw look at her, she's glowing.” Ruby said.

“Come on guys, we have some fat free yogurt to buy.” August said. All four of them left the café and headed towards the ice cream store.

Later that night, Emma was full from eating her entire pint of frozen yogurt, was laying on her back on her bed, with Ruby, Regina, and August sitting in different parts of her dorm room, all in various forms of food comas. Emma reached over onto her night stand and grabbed the paper with Neal's number on it.

“What are you going to say to him?” Ruby asked, breaking the silence.

“What do you mean?” Emma asked sitting up so she could see her friend. “I mean, are you going to sound flirty, are you going to stay professional? Come on girl, what are your intentions with him?” Emma laughed, causing everyone else to sit up and listen.

“You sound like a worried parent.” Emma said. Looking back at the paper, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and entered his number. “Should I call him?” Emma asked looking around.

“No, if you call him he might see you as desperate.” Ruby said. Taking another bite of her now soupy ice cream.

“Or, he could be in class.” Regina said. “Just send him a text. Something simple.”

“Like what, 'Hey, its Emma?'” Emma asked.

“Maybe that's too simple.” August said, getting off of Emma's desk and walked over to sit beside her.

“Maybe try to be cute.”

“What does that even mean?” Emma asked, feeling already that dating was too much work.

“Try to make a joke.” Ruby suggested.

“Like what a Knock Knock joke?” Emma asked, causing August to laugh.

"See now you are being cute."

"Or annoying" Regina butted in, which in return rewarded her with a pillow being thrown at her, thanks to August.

"Okay, I think I'm just going to be me. He should like me for me, right?"

"Right." August said.

Emma went to work on typing and retyping her message, till she was satisfied with what she wanted to send. "Okay, how does this sound? 'Hey, remember me? It's Emma from the café. Let me know when you want to get that coffee.'" Emma looked around her room to find that her friends seemed both amused and horrified by her message.

"Please tell me you didn't send that." Regina said, clearly disgusted with the message.

"Not yet, but what's wrong with it?"

"You sound boring." Regina said, standing up from the floor, reaching for Emma's phone.

"Here let me do it."

"No, Regina, don't." Emma said. Regina had a hold on the top of Emma's phone, pulling it towards herself. Emma had a firm grip at the bottom of the phone.

Both girls fought over the phone for a few minutes before August had enough and grabbed a hold of Regina's waist pulling her away from Emma and her phone. Placing Regina back on her feel August put himself in between the both of them. "Alright. That is enough! Regina, Emma can send whatever text message she wants. Let's stop acting like children and communicate like adults."

Regina straightened out her outfit and puffed out her chest a little before going over and finding a chair to sit in. "August, Regina's right. I sound boring. I don't want this guy to think that I am some sort of stuck up nerd, who can't even talk to a guy in a coffee shop." Emma reached behind her to grab her phone.

"Emma, like you said you should be yourself. Even if you are some stuck up nerd, who can't talk to a guy in a coffee shop." August said, causing Emma to smile. Looking down at her phone, Emma's heart dropped as she read what laid on her screen. Message sent.

"Oh no!" Emma said, quickly standing up from her bed, and beginning to pace the floor.

"What? Emma, what is it?" Ruby said, going over to stop Emma from pacing.

"The message was sent. It must have been sent when Regina and I were fighting over my phone. Oh no, there goes my chance of a real date with someone, before he even got the chance to know me." Emma leaned her head down on Ruby's shoulders, feeling defeated.

"Oh Emma. It's just a silly text message. If he is going to say no to a date because of the way you said hello, then honey, you deserve better than him." Ruby said, wrapping her arms around Emma. All of them went silent waiting for anyone to say something.

After what seemed like an eternity, Emma's phone vibrated. Everyone went still and all the color from Emma's face drained. "Is it him?" Ruby asked, getting very eager herself.

Emma took a deep breath, expecting the worst. Maybe he gave her a fake number. Maybe he changed his number. She looked down at her phone and clicked on the message. 'Hey Emma! Of course, I remember you, how could I forget? Especially someone with eyes like yours. If you can make it, I don't have class till 10AM, want to grab coffee at 9?'

"Well, what did he say?" Regina asked, leaning forward in her seat.

"He said he wants to meet for coffee at nine tomorrow morning before class." Emma said, slightly dumbfounded.

"Oh my goodness. Girl look at you!" Ruby said practically jumping up and down with joy.  
Emma reread the message, over and over again, more specifically the part about her eyes. She could feel her face getting hot as she began to blush.

"Oh, someone is blushing." Ruby said, slightly poking fun at her.

"Did he say anything else?" Emma looked up and smiled, unable to contain how happy she was. Funny how a simple text message can make you feel nothing but pure happiness. Emma read the message out loud to her friends, word for word.

"Aw, he can't forget your eyes, that's so sweet and romantic." Ruby said, with love struck eyes.

"Or it's a line." Regina said, rolling her eyes.

"Regina!" August said sternly.

"What? He knows her name, and they had a class together two years ago, which I doubt he remembers. Look all I am saying is that he could be a player. Emma, I don't want you to get your hopes up and end up getting hurt. No guy is worth crying over." Regina said, making her way over to Emma.

"Regina, it's just coffee. Let's take it one day at a time. I'm not going to jump into bed with him tomorrow. I'm going to let him buy me a coffee."

"Well then you might wanna text him back." Regina said, almost snapping at Emma.

"I have to go." Regina said grabbing her jacket that hung off the edge of Emma's desk chair and let without saying another word.

"What's her problem?" Ruby asked.

"Who knows. Help me text Neal back." Emma said. Pulling both Ruby and August to her bed, helping her text Neal back and forth for the next hour.

"Alright, it's time for us to head out, it's getting late. Don't stay up too late, you want to make sure you have time to get ready for your coffee date tomorrow." Ruby said, giving Emma a hug goodbye.

August gave her a kiss on her forehead before following Ruby out the door. Once everyone was gone, Emma went back to her bed and grabbed her phone. Having received another text message from Neal, Emma could help but squeal from excitement.

She quickly changed into her pajamas and turned off her lights. Sending her friends a good night message, before returning a text message to Neal. She couldn't wait to wake up tomorrow and go out on their date. Her heart pounded with excitement. Her head swarmed with ideas of what she was gonna wear and how she was going to do her hair and makeup.

She sent Neal a goodnight message and set her alarm. Emma fell asleep quickly that night, her dreams filled with what the day may hold when she wakes up.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma awoke to the sound of her alarm blaring on her night stand. Normally she would groan and hit the snooze button till she had 5 minutes left to get ready. Today however, she practically jumped out of bed.

She turned off her alarm and took a deep breath in. She checked the time, just to make sure she had plenty of time. 7 AM. Emma grabbed her bathrobe and made her way to the bathroom.

Emma took a shower and made sure her favorite music was playing. She couldn’t contain her excitement. Once her hair was washed and conditioned, Emma grabbed the best smelling soap she had and washed her body. Not only did she want to look the best, she wanted to smell her best.

She got out of the shower and brushed her teeth and let her hair air dry. She walked over to her closet, and was trying to find the perfect outfit, silently cursing herself for waiting until now to pick out her outfit.

She finally settled on a pair of dark blue jeans, black boots with a two-inch heel, a white tank top and a brown leather jacket. She put the top half of her hair up in a bun while the rest lay on her back curling slightly on the bottom.

Once her makeup was done, she checks the time. 8AM. Okay, she had time left. She went over to her full length mirror and took a couple of photos.

She said the best photo to the group chat that consisted of August, Ruby, and Regina. While waiting for her friends to respond Emma sent a quick confirmation text to Neal.

Emma: _Hey, are we still on for 9?_

Neal: _Of course! Where do you want to meet?_

Emma: _We can meet outside the coffee shop._

Neal: _Awesome! Sounds Good!_

Emma couldn’t help herself from grinning the entire time texting him. She was so excited and could help but feel giddy. She never thought that she would be going on a date with someone as handsome as Neal.  
She put her phone down beside her on the bed and leaned back, so she was laying on her bed. She was planning on what time she was going to leave her dorm when her phone vibrated again. It was her friends responding to her picture.

August: _Oh sweetie, you look so cute! How excited are you?_

Emma: Very, though next time, I am going to pick out my outfit the night before. It took me a good 30 minutes to find the right one.

Ruby: _Gosh, I am so excited for you!!!!! Please when the date is over I want all the details, and I mean all of them. I want to know if he bought your coffee, where did you guys sit, did he kiss you? Did you guys do more than kiss?!!_

Emma could help but laugh at her friends excitement, but blushed slightly at the thought of kissing Neal, let alone doing anything else.

Emma: _Okay, we shall what happens, but we are only getting coffee, I’m trying not to put too much pressure on this._

Regina: _Hey, sorry I’m late to the chat, Emma I love the shoes! Also, what color did you paint your nails, I think purple would look amazing!_

Emma looked down and realized that she forgot to paint her nails. She began to panic and started pounding on her phone’s keyboard fast and hard.

Emma: _OMG! I completely forgot about my nails!! I don’t have time to paint them now! OMG!! Please tell me I didn’t mess everything up?_

Regina: _Yep, you ruined the whole thing._

August: _Regina!_

Regina: _What? I am only joking! No, your nails are not going to ruin the date! Have you never been on a date before?_

Emma: _Regina! You know the answer to that!_

Ruby: _Wait, Emma. Have you never been on a date before?_

Emma: _…no_

Ruby: _OMG WHAT!!! This is your first date ever!!!OMG I think I’m going to cry! This is so precious!!!!_

Emma: _Okay, you guys. I have to go. I am leaving to head over to the coffee shop._

August: _Are you walking or driving?_

Emma: _It’s quicker for me to walk, besides, I need to clear my head before I see him. Now I’m nervous!_

Ruby: _Don’t be nervous! You got this! Have fun and good luck!_

August: _Have fun Emma! Let's meet for dinner later tonight, and we can talk about it then._

Emma: _Sounds Good!_

Regina: _Have fun, Emma_

Emma stood up from her bed and put her phone in her pocket. She grabbed her purse and took a deep breath, before pulling open her door and walking towards the coffee shop.

The entire walk there, Emma couldn’t help but think about how new she was at this. Yes, she has never been on a date before or even kissed a boy. She felt naive and inexperienced.

She soon was at the front door of the coffee shop. 8:50 AM. She was a bit early. Emma decided to let Neal know that she was early but him not to rush. The moment that she sent the message she heard someone calling her name. She looked up and saw Neal walking towards her.

“Hey!, I was just texting you!” Emma said, smiling, hoping he can’t hear how loud her heart was pounding.

“I know, I felt my phone vibrate and ran as fast as I could here.” Neal said giving Emma a smile that caused her entire body to hurt.

“Well, you must run pretty fast.” Neal chuckled a little.

“Well, I run faster when I have coffee in my system, speaking of, shall we?” Neal asked, gesturing towards the door.

Emma nodded walking towards the door as Neal opened it for her. As Emma walked past him, she could smell his cologne, and she swore she has never smelled anything better in her entire life.

After ordering their coffees, Neal and Emma sat down at a table next to a big window that overlooked most of the main street. Emma looked outside for a moment, before she could catch herself Emma thought out loud,

“Man, I am really gonna miss it here.” Realizing that she said it out loud she quickly turned from the window to look at Neal. “Sorry, sometimes I speak before I think.” Emma said, before looking down at her coffee, completely embarrassed at what she said.

“No need to be sorry. I understand how you feel. I mean, this place has been a part of our lives for almost 3.5 years. I’m gonna miss it as well.” Neal said.

Emma looked up at Neal and smiled, feeling a bit more comfortable now. “Well, it’s only September, we have another 8 months left to enjoy our time here.” Neal shifted a bit, before focusing his attention on Emma.

“Actually, I will be leaving here in December. When everyone leaves to go on winter break, I will actually be graduating.” Emma felt slightly disappointed, but was also very excited for him to accomplish this.

“Oh wow! That’s amazing. It will be sad to not see you when we come back from Break but that is still an amazing thing.” Emma said. Before she could stop herself, she reached her hand across the table and placed her hand on top of his. “Congratulations!” Emma said sweetly.

She was about to pull her hand away, but Neal moved his hand around, till he was holding hers. Emma looked down at their intertwined fingers, then back at him, blushing slightly. “So.” Neal started. “Tell me a bit about yourself.”

The two of them spent the next three hours talking about their home life and what they were majoring in. Emma found out that Neal was majoring in accounting, but when he wasn’t in his office, or in class, he would be outside any chance he got.

She found out that his mom died when he was a little boy, and wasn’t the closest to his father. His father was to be married next year and as much as they strayed apart from one another, Neal was planning on going to the wedding and hoping to restart his relationship with his father, now that they are both adults.

Emma told Neal about her parents the cute nicknames that her town has for them. How she was studying Criminal Justice. She talked about her three best friends and some of their adventures together.

Just before 1 PM Neal said that he had a meeting with one of his professors, so he had to go. Emma walked with Neal out of the coffee shop, their hands were still intertwined.

“Well Emma, I would like to say thank you for a wonderful morning and early afternoon.” Neal said, turning towards Emma. Emma gave a small smile, looking down at the ground.

“It was my pleasure.” Emma said, feeling slightly flirty.

“I do hope we can do this again.” Neal said. Emma’s face lit up a little, and she smiled brightly at him.

“I would like that.” Emma said.

“Well, then as a placeholder till I can see you again…” Neal, started to say, taking a step towards Emma. Once they were less than a foot apart, Neal placed a hand under Emma’s chin, lifting her head towards his.

He leaned down and captured her lips with his. Emma’s heart was pounding. She thought it was going to explode out of her chest and her head was spinning. She was pretty sure she was going to pass out. Emma wanted to bottle up this moment and live in it forever. The kiss only lasted a second, before Neal pulled away smiling.

“Until next time, Emma.” he said, before turning and walking towards campus.

Emma stood there, unable to comprehend what was happening. She felt like she was floating on a cloud. She doesn’t remember leaving the coffee shop but suddenly she was unlocking the door to her dorm room and was making her way towards her bed.

Emma couldn’t help but smile. Once Emma was sitting on her bed, she had no idea what to do. She wanted to tell her friends, but thought about waiting till dinner. What should she do till dinner? Suddenly her phone vibrated and her heart jumped for joy when she read that Neal was texting her.

Neal: _Hey, let me know when you get back to your dorm, want to make sure you got there safe._

Emma smiled at her phone. Maybe he is beginning to care about me. Emma thought to herself. Suddenly she felt flirtatious. She has never flirted before but thought about taking a page from both Ruby and Regina’s book.

Emma: _Careful, one might think that you care about me._

Neal: _Maybe I do. Sue me._

Emma: _Give you a run for your money_

Neal: _A woman after my own heart._

Emma: _Money first, heart second_

Neal: _and priorities. My favorite. Anything else I should be warned about?_

Emma read the message over and over again, hoping that something would come to her mind but it seemed her flirtatious stage had ended.

Emma: _I have no warning, but just because you asked so nicely before, I will give you the satisfaction to know that I am home._

Neal: _Thank you for letting me know. I have to put my phone away, so I don’t get caught with it. I will talk with you later Emma. ;)_

Emma looked at the winking smiling face for what seemed like hours. Finally, she put her phone down and decided to get some work done herself.

Once 5PM hit, Emma’s phone vibrated. It was August, Ruby, and Regina, confirming their dinner plans. They agreed to meet in the lobby of their dorm hall and all walk to a cute little diner down the road.

After about 20 minutes Emma grabbed her purse and headed towards the main entrance to her dorm. As soon as the door shut behind her, Emma realized she left her keys on her desk.

“No, no, no!” Emma voice, trying her door knob, hoping it didn’t lock, but to her dismay it was. “Shit!” Emma said aloud. She made her way down two flights of stairs and found her friends, waiting for her by the front door.

“There she is, the woman of the hour.” August's voice boomed through the nearly empty room, causing Emma to blush and look down at the ground.

“So…” Ruby said, making her way toward Emma, linking arms. “How was your day?” Emma looked at Ruby and gave a small chuckle.

“Come on you guys, I’m starving.” Emma exclaimed, dragging Ruby towards the doors.

“I think thirsty is more like it.” Regina voice, giving a small laugh. Once they made it outside, they made their way down the street to the local diner. Once seated, and their orders placed, everyone went silent and stared at Emma.

“What?” Emma asked, suddenly feeling shy and insecure, having everyone stare at her.

“What do you mean ‘what?’ Spill!” Regina, nudging Emma’s shoulder a bit.

“Okay, okay.” Emma laughed. “Well, we had a wonderful time. We drank some coffee, and we talked about our majors and a little about our home life. He is very sweet and kind, and yes, a bit of a charmer, but I am okay with that. He seems like a really great guy.” Emma said, unable to contain her smile.

“Awe, Emma, that’s so sweet. I really hope things work out for you guys.” August said, reaching across the table and placed his hand on top of Emma’s.

“Okay, yes that is all great and all, but I said I wanted details.” Ruby interrupted, causing Emma to chuckle.

“Well, he told me something that I really don’t think that he would want other people to know.” Emma said, poking fun and Ruby a little, who just rolled her eyes and leaned forward a bit.

“No, that's not what I meant. I don’t care what you guys talked about, did you guys kiss?” Ruby asked, her eyes growing wider as Emma smiles and reached for her drink and took the longest sip known to mankind.

“Oh my god, you did!” Ruby practically screamed.

“Okay, keep it down will you.” Emma said, feeling like everyone in the diner was staring at them now.

“Emma’s first date, and she even gets a goodbye kiss, well I will say that I am impressed, job well done Emma.” Regina said, smiling at Emma.

The rest of dinner passed with laughter and making plans for the rest of the week. They all agreed to have a small gathering at Emma’s, that following Friday night for drinks and more boy talk.

When Emma finally made it back to her dorm, she remembered that she locked herself out. She made her way over to the main desk, only to find that it was closed for the evening.

“Of course it is.” Emma grumbled to herself. She texted her friends letting them know, she locked herself out of her dorm. Hoping they would let her crash at their place. When no one answered, Emma made her way over to one of the couches and sat down.

“Guess I am sleeping here tonight.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Emma’s phone vibrated. Hoping it was one of her friends, she quickly grabbed it. She was slightly disappointed to see it wasn’t one of her friends, but her disappointment was replaced when she read Neal's name across her screen.

Neal: _Hey! Whatcha up to?_

Emma: _Oh Same old. I went out to dinner with my friends, had a nice relaxing wake back to my dorm hall, and locked myself out of my room._

Neal: _How did you manage that?_

Emma: _Left my key on my desk…_

Neal: _See if anyone at the front desk can open the door for you._

Emma: _Tried that. No one is there. I don’t mind crashing on the couch in the lobby._

Neal: _Emma, you don’t need to do that. I am coming over there, just wait a second._

Emma: _You don’t have to come over, really it's okay._

Emma: _Neal?_

Emma: _Neal??_

Suddenly Emma heard a knock on the window beside her, causing her to jump. Emma looked and saw that it was Neal, slightly chuckling to herself she opened up the door to let him in.

“I said that I didn’t mind sleeping on the couch.” Emma said, as Neal walked past her and into the lobby.

“Emma, it’s really no trouble, not tell me, which one is your door.” Emma stood there for a moment, dumbfounded.

“Oh! Here, follow me.” Emma said, after a moment of just staring blankly at him. Once they made it up to her dorm room, Neal turned towards Emma.

“Do you have a bobby pin?” Emma shook her head yes, reaching yup in her hair and taking out a bobby pin. She handed it to Neal, who thanked her and went to work on the key lock. After about 2 minutes the latch released and Emma’s door was now open. “See, a piece of cake.” Neal said, smiling towards her.

“How...how did you know how to do that?” Neal's face fell for a moment before clearing his throat.

“I... I used to lock myself out of my mom's house all the time. After a couple of tries, you pretty much know how to unlock any door. Don’t worry, I only use my powers for good.” Neal said, regaining his smile.

“Well I guess that makes you my hero.”


	3. Chapter 3

A few months have passed, and Emma and Neal were officially together. It didn’t take them very long to start calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend, though Emma cringe at the words. She was never one for labels.

Neal asked Emma to be his girlfriend one crisp fall night, while they were on a walk. They had been dating for about 2 months and Emma couldn’t be happier. She quickly agreed, pulling him in for a hug and a long, heated kiss. They pulled apart breathless, both with a twinkle in their eyes.

By the time they parted ways that night it was nearly midnight. She called her friends, and when none of them picked up, she took a leap of faith and braced herself. She went through her contacts and called her mother, who picked up after the second ring.

“Hello?” Her mother answered, in a high-pitched voice, to this day it will remind Emma of a Disney Princess.

“Why Hello.” Emma said, hearing her mother gasp and was practically screaming on the other end of the phone.

“Emma! Oh goodness, it is so wonderful to hear from you! You know, your father and I were just talking about you. Thought maybe we could take a trip up there to see you!” Emma laughed slightly, how she missed her mother's over the top enthusiasm.

“I would love that mom, and since you are this excited to hear from me, I can only imagine what your reaction is going to be when I tell you some good news.” Hearing her mother pause for a moment, probably gathering all her strength not to scream with curiosity.

“Should I wake your father?” She asked.

“No, it's okay. If he is already asleep then you can tell him in the morning or you can have him call me.”

“Oh Goodie! So what is this good news?” Emma took a deep breath and couldn’t hold back her smile.

“I... I met someone.” Emma could hear her mother practically stop breathing.

“You…you mean you went on a date?!” Mary’s Margaret's voice was getting higher and louder with every word that came out of her mouth.

“Well, actually mom. We have been dating for about two months now.”

“What?!” Emma had to pull the phone away from her ear, to keep her from going deaf. “Why didn’t you tell me you were dating someone. Oh My goodness, this is so exciting! Who is he, what's his name? Where did you guys meet?”

Emma was beginning to believe that mother stopped breathing altogether. Laughing, Emma laid down on her stomach and began to fill her mother in on her love life.

“Okay, well I had class with him a couple of years ago, and ever since I had been seeing him all around campus. I thought he was cute, but you know me, I tend to focus on my studies more than boys. Well the gang soon realized something was up and forced me to talk to him. We started dating and just moments ago, he asked me to be his girlfriend.” Emma paused, and braced herself for her mother's screams on the other end.

“OH MY GOODNESS! EMMA! This is so exciting. I can not wait to tell your father. So tell me, what is he like?”

“Well, let me see. He is incredibly sweet, very helpful with things. He and I love the same tv shows and movie genres. He is very athletic, and even got me to go on a run with him. He has a bit of a mysterious side.” Emma, letting her mind wander.

“What do you mean mysterious?” Her mother asked, slightly concerned.

“I’m not sure. I feel like there is something that he is not telling me. He might just have a bit of a secret and doesn’t want to tell me. We haven't been together that long anyway, so I’m sure he will tell me sooner or later.” Emma said, reassuring herself more than her mother.

“Oh I am sure he will. You guys are just starting out, soon you will know more about him than he knows about himself. You just have to give it time. Oh honey, this is so exciting. Your very first boyfriend. Oh! I wish I could have seen you go off on your first date with him. I would have taken your picture.” Mary Margaret said, unable to contain her excitement, her voice was getting higher and higher with every word, Emma didn’t think it could get any higher.

“Which is why you weren’t there.” Emma mumbled.

“What was that dear?” Her mother asked.

“Nothing.” Emma said quickly. “And if I am correct, Neal is not my first boyfriend. I had a few men in my day. Way back in second and third grade.”

Emma and her mother were on the phone for nearly two hours before Emma found herself falling asleep talking on the phone.

“Hey Mom, it's been great catching up with you, but I really have to go. I'm falling asleep just sitting here.”

“Okay Sweetie. Well go to bed. I love you, and I can’t wait to hear more about Neal.”

“I promise. Love you mom.” With that Emma hung up her phone and crawled under her blankets, feeling her body heat rise slowly, she soon drifted off into sleep.

That next morning Emma was woken up to loud yelling in her hallway. Looking over and grabbing her phone, the time read 6:00AM. Groaning, Emma pulled the blankets back over her head and tried to block out the yelling. With no luck, Emma decided to get up and figure out what was going on.

Emma made it out into the hallway and saw Regina and August yelling at each other. Making her way towards them, Emma couldn’t understand what they were yelling about. They were talking over each other, both too proud to let the other one get a word in.

“Hey.” Emma tried, but neither of them stopped. Emma tried again but a little louder.

“Hey!” This time both Regina and August heard her and turned towards her. “What the hell?! You guys are best friends, what is going on?” As soon as the words left Emma’s mouth, both of them started talking over each other, trying to explain themselves.

Having enough of this, Emma grabbed both of them by their ears and began dragging them over to her dorm. Once inside, Emma sat them down on the opposite side of the room.

“Okay, clearly, there is something going on here. So one at a time, you guys are going to tell me what happened.” Emma paused to see if either one of them would speak.

Regina was sitting in Emma’s desk chair, her arms were crossed over her chest, and she was staring at the wall opposite of August. August was leaning against Emma’s dresser, his arms were on either side of him, supporting his weight on the dresser. He was looking down at the ground, unable to look at either Emma or Regina. Taking a deep breath, Emma started again.

“It's six in the morning, you guys hardly fight, besides the daily bickering, what is this about? August?” Emma noticed a slightly guilty look in August's eyes and decided to take advantage and call him out on it. Shaking his head slightly, August slowly looked up at Emma and sighed.

“Emma…” August started. Regina quickly looked at August, her eyes growing big.

“Emma, we have a friend who is in a long term relationship with her boyfriend.” Emma could see Regina, physically relax a little and made a mental note about it. “We have been really happy for her, but we found out that the guy that she is with, has a shady past, and I suggested telling her, but Regina wants him to tell. They have been together for a while now, that I doubt he is ever going to tell her.” Emma, not fully intrigued by the story, sat on her bed and lean in closer.

“What's so shady about his past?” Emma asked. Regina stood up and began to walk around the room.

“Remember my last boyfriend, Graham? Remember how I found out he was doing drugs?” Regina stated, turning around, making eye contact with Emma.

“Yes, is this what this guy is doing as well?”

“Well, kinda. We believe that he is doing some drugs, which ones we are not sure, but we that he used to be the one to sell it to Graham.” Regina said.

Emma was not fully invested in the story. “Oh wow, how did you guys find this out? Who is it? Do I know them?”

“Well, right before they started dating, I felt like I knew him before. I knew that I had seen him before, but I just couldn’t figure out where. One day, when I was leaving my math class, I heard Graham talking. You know how he and I are trying, and failing, at staying friends, so I was going to head over in his direction and say hi, when I say the guy. That's when it hit me, he was the one that I would see trying to sneak away from my apartment in the middle of the night, whenever Graham would buy drugs.” Emma let the story sink in for a while.

“So you guys are arguing about whether to tell her or not?” Both of them nodded, unable to look Emma in the eye again.

“What do you think we should do? Put yourself in these girls shoes, would you want your friends to tell you, or would you rather hear it from your boyfriend, if he even says it.” August asked. Emma thought for a moment, before taking a deep breath.

“If there was a guarantee that he was going to tell her, then let him tell her. Having it be something as big and dangerous as drugs, he might not tell her, for his own reasons. So my guess would be if she is open to listen to you guys, and you guys are close enough then I say, maybe you guys should sit her down and tell her. She might not believe you at first and might even get a bit mad, but when everything is all said and done, she will know the truth, and when she chooses to accept that, she will more than likely apologize to guys.”

Both Regina and August looked at each other, almost like they were reading each other's minds.

“What? You guys please tell me! Do I know who any of these people are? Besides him being a drug dealer, how do you guys know these people? ” Emma was practically begging.

“Emma…” August started.

“Don’t!” Regina practically screamed.

“Why? She wants to know who they are, and she even stated it herself that in the end everything will be okay.” August said.

“This is different and you know it. The end result may be the same but I don’t want to be the one to hurt her.” Regina said.

“Hurt me? Why would this hurt me?” Emma asked.

“See, now you’ve done it. We have no other choice but to tell her everything now.” August said, getting slightly angry, raising his voice at Regina.

Regina was never one to back down from a fight and began to defend herself. August was having none of her excuses and began to talk over her again.

Emma sat on her bed, watching her two friends fight over a situation that she believed had nothing to do with her. Emma was confused as to why knowing who these people are would hurt her. What is Ruby? Did she have a secret boyfriend that she did know about? No, if it was her, then she cheated a lot, and Ruby is not a cheater. What if it's her parents? No, her father wasn’t one to sell or do drugs. He wouldn’t drive 3 hours just to sell drugs to a college student than drive home, there was no way.

Emma was trying to figure out whom she possibly could have been, when her friends were slowly getting louder and louder. Tired of their yelling, Emma got off her bed and went over to Regina and August, who were just inches from each other. She grabbed a hold of their ears again, and both of them practically screamed out in pain and began bending down. Releasing after a few seconds Emma looked at both of them.

“That is enough for you two! Tell, or don’t tell me, I really don’t care at this point. You guys are best friends, and you are letting someone else's relationship drama get in the way of that. Please just stop”.

Emma was about to go on a long rant about friendships and drama when Regina stopped her.

“Emma…” Taking a well-deserved deep breath Emma looked at Regina. Regina looked as though she was about to cry, her face was red, and she was shaking slightly. Emma could see tears forming in her eyes.

“Emma, I don’t know how to tell you this, but it’s Neal.”


	4. Chapter 4

Emma was sitting on her bed, trying to process and figure out what to do with what her friends just told her. Was Neal actually selling drugs? Maybe this was a misunderstanding. Maybe it wasn’t him.

Emma took out her phone and decided she was going to figure this out once and for all. She went to Neal's number and decided it was better for her to text him.

Emma: _Hey Neal, I was hoping we could go get dinner or something today._

Neal: _That sounds great, but can we order in?_

Emma: _Of course, My place 6PM._

Neal: _Can’t wait!_

Emma didn’t know what she was going to say, but she needed to know the truth.  
She needed to know if Neal was capable of selling drugs. If he was, would she be okay with it? What if he used to, would she be okay with that?

Emma couldn’t stand the questions that were swirling around in her head, torturing her. She looked at her clock and it read One o’clock in the afternoon. She had 5 hours to kill before she was going to have dinner with a side of a difficult conversation. Emma decided she would put in her headphones and deep clean her entire dorm.

After a couple of hours, Emma decided to take a break from cleaning her room, and she laid down on her bed, taking everything in. Suddenly her phone alarm went off. Grabbing her phone she noticed that it was 5PM. Emma decided to get up and take a shower to get ready.

An hour later Emma and Neal were sitting on her bed, watching a movie, eating Chinese food. Emma was so lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that Neal was trying to talk to her.

“Emma! Hello, anyone home?” Neal said, chuckling slightly, causing Emma to snap out of her thoughts.

“Oh! Sorry, I was lost in thought.” Emma confessed, slightly embarrassed.  
“That’s okay, what were you thinking about?” Neal asked, sitting up slightly.

“Oh, it's nothing, really we should just watch the movie.” Emma rushed out. She wasn’t ready to talk about this. She knew she would need to eventually, but she just wasn’t ready.

“Emma.” Neal started. Turning towards her, and taking her hands in his. “Emma, if something is bothering you, then we should talk about it. It’s not healthy to keep things bottled up. It will only keep eating at you, until one day you snap. No matter how bad you think it is, it’s important to you.” Neal said with a smile.

Emma felt her heart rate calm down a little. She closed her eyes for a moment, and took a deep breath.

“Okay, well a close friend of mine confessed something to me about someone I care about. This information scares me a bit and I don’t know how to bring it up.” Emma confessed, finding it hard to look at Neal.

“Okay, well who is it? Do I know them?” Neal asked.

“It’s you.” Emma whispered so softly, she could barely hear it.

“Me? What did you hear about me that could scare you?” Neal asked, shifting on her bed, moving himself to be directly in front of her.

“A friend of mine used to have a boyfriend who would use drugs pretty heavily. She swears that she saw you with him a few times, giving him the drugs. I just want to know if it's true, and if it is, are you still selling?” Emma asked, suddenly feeling a bit courageous.

Neal breathed in sharply, turned away slightly, running his fingers through his hair and leaning back, so his back was against her wall.” Yes, yes I used to sell drugs. I don’t anymore. I got out of that. People were too dump, and I was tired of having my so-called friends getting busted by the cops. I’m not in that game anymore.”

Emma gave a small sigh of relief. “That’s it. You are not going to do it anymore.”

“No. Does it bother you that I used to.” Neal asked, turning back to look at Emma.

“If you were still selling and actively doing drugs then I would be concerned. I am not a big fan of drugs. I see what they can do to people and that scares me.” Emma confessed.

Neal grabbed a hold of Emma’s hands, causing her to look up at him. “I know I have had a troubled past, but I have learned from my mistakes and my experiences. I promise, I will never go back to selling or abusing. I was younger, and I was trying to find my place in the world. I know that I don’t belong there. Does that help you trust me?” Neal asked.

Emma leaned forward capturing his lips with her, silently answering his question. Breathing in, they both deepen the kiss. Soon Emma found herself on her back laying on her bed with Neal on top of her. She could feel Neal's running his hands up her sides, leaving her yearning for more. Emma wanted to bottle up this moment and live in it forever. He had never felt this way around anyone before, and she didn’t want to forget it.

Just as the heated moment began, it ended. Neal pulled away, having a hard time looking at her. “What… What's the matter? Did I do something wrong?” Emma asked, suddenly feeling exposed, though she sat in her bed fully clothed.

“No, no you didn’t do anything wrong.” Neal started. “I know that you have never done anything like this before and I don’t want you to think that I am rushing you. I would have to make you feel like you had to do something, even if you were not ready.”

Neal finally looked up at Emma, her eyes were filled with so much love, and tears were forming. Emma leaned forward placing her forehead on his, closing her eyes. Emma felt so much at that moment, she didn’t even think about what she was going to say, until it was too late. “I love you.”

Emma realized what she had said, and immediately froze. Her mind was now running a million miles per second. She could not believe what she just said. She felt Neal move slightly, expecting him to pull away, but instead he pulled her closer to him, having him hold her now.

“I love you too.” Neal said. Emma looks up at him and gives him a kiss. They deepen the kiss and embrace in a passionate, yet loving kiss. Emma’s heart felt like it was going to explode, but she didn’t want this to end. Instead, she wanted more. She began to lie back down on her bed, pulling Neal with her.  
Emma felt like she could feel everything. Her skin felt like it was on fire, whenever he touched her. Her body seemed to have a mind of its own. She let instincts take over, and soon enough she pulled his shirt off of him. Having his shirt come up, seemed to bring Neal back to reality. “Emma...I…know you wanted to wait.”

“Screw waiting.” Emma said, grabbing Neal by the back of his neck, pulling him into a kiss. Emma didn’t want to wait anymore, she wanted him now, all of him. This was all Neal needed as he let his body take over.

Soon there was a pile of clothes in the middle of Emma’s dorm, and Emma was under her blankets with Neal laying beside her. Emma was lost in her own bliss, feeling closer to anyone than she thought possible. Emma laid there with her eyes closed savoring this moment, she felt a little kiss on the tip of her nose. She opened her eyes to see Neal staring at her, with a smile painted on his face, that Emma mirrored.

Emma was about to say something when Neal’s phone went off. Reaching over, Neal grabbed his phone and read the message that was displayed on his screen, and groaned.

“Everything okay?” Emma asked, bringing her arm up, so she can prop her head up a bit.

“Yeah, just a study group that I am in. They rescheduled the time and that means I am going to have to leave soon. I am sorry Love, but I’m going to have to get going.” Neal said, putting his phone back down and turning toward Emma again.

“That’s okay. I mean I want to stay here with you for a bit longer, but midterms are in a couple of months and you need to study. You have to pass your classes in order to graduate.” Emma joked.

Neal gave her a smile and leaned down to kiss her. The kiss was short, but was anything besides innocent. “I will text you later, okay?”

“Okay, sounds good.” Emma beamed. Neal got out of bed and through on his clothes, before leaning down one more time to kiss Emma goodbye.

Once Neal left, Emma got a strange, lonely feeling creeping up on her. In order to distract herself, she grabbed her clothes off the floor and put them in her laundry basket and grabbed some old pajamas.

After changing Emma went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Once she was in front of the mirror, she started at herself for a moment. Did she feel any different? Did she look and different? Emma couldn’t tell. Emma finished up brushing her teeth and headed back to her dorm. Once back inside her dorm, Emma laid back in bed. The very bed she just lost her virginity in. Was it how she pictured it? No. Yet again, she never really thought about it before.

Emma laid there thinking about what happened earlier that night, and couldn’t help but smile. Emma had never felt so close and so loved by someone before. She wanted to scream from the rooftops that she found the one. Emma let her mind wander about what the future might hold. The only thing that really bugged her, he was going to be leaving in a couple months. What are they going to do then?


	5. Chapter 5

A week has passed since Emma and Neal’s special night occurred. Emma felt like she was flying everywhere she went. She didn’t tell anyone about that night, but her friends were starting to become suspicious.

“Okay, I have to know what is going on with you?” Regina asked. They were all sitting at their favorite coffee shop and no matter what, Emma could not stop smiling.

“What do you mean?” Emma asked innocently.

“The past couple of days you have been very bubbly. It’s almost annoying.” Regina practically groaned out.

“Actually, now that you mention it, you are right. Emma has been acting a bit differently. What’s been going on with you?” August asked.

“I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I have just been in an excellent mood.” Emma said, feeling her cheeks go hot, knowing she was beginning to blush.

“She’s blushing! Why is she blushing?” Ruby asked. Emma looked down at her coffee and could help but smile even more. “She's acting like…”

Suddenly Ruby sat up straight. “Oh my gosh! Emma you didn’t. Did you??”

“What?! What did Emma do? What are you thinking?” August asked, who was startled, as well as Regina, by the sudden burst of energy that Ruby had.

“Emma, did you and Neal…” Ruby didn’t need to finish her sentence. Emma’s smile grew even bigger and her face became even redder, as she tried to hide behind her coffee. “OH MY GOSH, YOU DID!!!” Ruby practically screamed.

August and Regina gave each other a worried look for a second, but Emma caught it.

“Emma! I am so excited that you finally did it. You have to tell me every detail.” Ruby had run over to Emma and was giving her a never ending hug, unable to hold in her excitement.

“Uh, Ruby. How about you go order another coffee and I will tell everyone the story.” Emma said. Ruby nodded, grabbing her wallet and running over to the counter that had a few people in line.

Emma turned her attention to Regina and August. “Okay, I know what you guys are thinking.” Emma started.

“What, it's none of my business what you do in your free time.” Regina snapped.

“Regina…” August started.

“No August, we tried to warn her about him and end up in bed with him.” Regina said sternly, the anger rising in her voice with every word.

“Hey! It’s not like I didn’t wait, and if you would just listen, I talked about it with him.” Emma stated.

Regina sat back in her chair, forcefully, shaking her head. “Emma, I don’t understand how you could do such a thing. You used to be this pure, innocent, flower that always knew the right thing to do and say, but I guess I was wrong.”

Emma was taken aback by what Regina had just said. “Hey, now wait just one minute. You won't let me explain.”

“Explain what!” Regina exploded, standing up from her hair yelling at Emma. “I told you your boyfriend was a drug dealer and you turn around and sleep with him.” Regina turned to grab her jacket when Emma stood up from her own chair, fuming with rage.

“Well at least I waited until I knew him and not bring him home on the first date, like a town slut.” Emma screamed. Everyone in the coffee shop was staring at the two of them, in shock of what they were witnessing.

“Okay, why don’t we take this outside, and down a couple notches.” August suggested.

“Don’t bother. I’m leaving.” Regina said, before turning a heading towards the door.

“What the hell was that?” Ruby asked walking back to their friends. Emma sat back down in her chair, refusing to meet anybody's eye. “Someone should go after her.” Ruby suggested.

“No, let her go. She has made it clear that she doesn’t approve of my relationship.” Emma said.

“Emma, just give her some time. Both of you need to cool off. You both said things that you didn’t mean.” August said, sitting on the arm of the chair that Emma was sitting on.

“Let’s forget Regina, Ruby you wanted a story right?” Emma said, look up at Ruby who was still standing, with a coffee in hand and a very confused look on her face.

“Right, but before we start can I ask one question?” Ruby asked, moving over to her chair and placing her coffee on the table in front of her.

“Yeah, go for it.” Emma said, feeling the tension ease around her.

“Is what Regina said true? Is Neal really a drug dealer?” Ruby asked lowering her voice to only Emma and August could hear her.

With a sigh, Emma sat up straighter. “Well, that's what I was trying to explain to Regina. Neal at one point in his life, used to sell drugs. He sold them to his friends from my understanding, but he got out of it. Said the people were too dump, and he was tired of people getting busted, so he left. Told me he hasn’t touched the stuff since.” Emma said, with a smile on her face.

“And he has no intention of selling again?” August asked.

“I believe so.” Emma said.

“Did he tell you he doesn’t want to sell again?” August asked.

“Not in those words, and what's with the third degree? If you are against my relationship just like Regina, then you can follow her out the door.” Emma said, surprising herself.

“No, Emma, it’s not that I am against your relationship, I just want to make sure that you are not going to get hurt the way Regina did. I want you to understand what you are getting yourself into.” August explained.

“I trust him.” Emma simply said.

“Well that is good enough for me. Now tell me all about your night with him. I want to hear every detail.” Ruby said, once again easing the tension.

Smiling, Emma informed Ruby and August on the night her and Neal spent together, having a hard time keeping a smile off of her face. When her story was finished, the coffee shop was getting ready to close so the three friends went on their way back to their dorms.

Reaching her dorm, Emma couldn’t help but get excited to wrap herself up in her blankets and fall asleep to True Blood playing in the background. Walking into her dorm, she was startled to see all the lights were on and there were a pair of shoes on her shoe rack that were not hers. “Hello?” Emma called out, silently cursing herself for becoming a clique in a horror movie. You would be the first to die. Emma thought to herself.

Emma heard some rustling coming from the fair end of her dorm, where the bed was. She was unable to see what was making that noise do to part of a wall that was in her way. Dropping her bag, Emma grabbed her mace from the side pocket and made her way around the corner to where her bed was.

“I hope I didn’t scare you too bad.” A voice came from her bed, causing Emma to relax immediately.

“Neal, you just about gave me a heart attack.” Emma exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, but I figured I would surprise you. I know I left in a hurry the other night and I wanted to make it up to you. I brought a movie and popped some popcorn.” Neal said, as Emma placed her mace on a nearby table, and making her way to her closet.

“I would like that very much, but on one condition.” Emma said, turning around to look at Neal.

“And what would that be?” Neal asked with a smile on his face.

“We do all of that, but in our pajamas.” Emma declared.

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Neal smiled, getting off of Emma’s bed and began pulling off his shirt.

Emma turned around and opened up her closet, grabbing some cloth booty shorts and a tank top. Normally Emma would dress in a tank top and underwear but decided to wear some bottoms due to Neal in her room. Turning back around to head to her bathroom to change, Emma stopped dead in her tracks.

“What’s the matter, cat go your tongue.” Neal said, practically laughing. “Hope you don’t mind, my pajamas are my boxers.”

“Nope, don’t mind at all.” Emma said, taking in the image of Neal sitting in her bed in only boxers. Emma made her way to the bathroom to change and brushed her teeth. When she returned she climbed into bed with Neal and began watching the movie he brought.

Halfway through the movie, Emma felt Neal, begin to rub her back slightly. Relaxing to his touch, Emma leaned into him more, exposing more of her back. When Neal’s touches began to get a little more intimate, Emma had a feeling she wouldn’t be sleeping much that night.

The next morning, Emma awoke to find that Neal had already left. Getting out of bed, Emma checked her phone and found 2 missed calls from Regina. Rolling her eyes and throwing her phone on the bed, Emma headed to the bathroom to shower.

While Emma was showering, she kept feeling like she was hearing a phone buzzing somewhere in her bathroom. When she stepped out of the shower, Emma heard it again. Leaning down slightly, Emma found the source of the noise. A phone that seemed to have been dropped and left by her toilet. Hitting the on button, Emma realized it was Neal’s phone. She was about to put it on her shelf when a message caught her eye.

Hey man, are we still on for tonight. I need some of that green.

Staring at the screen Emma went from confused to angry, and only one question on her mind. Was Neal still selling drugs?


	6. Chapter 6

Emma woke up to her alarm blaring in her ear, reminding her that she had to get up and get ready for class. Sighing, Emma rolled out of bed and made her way to her bathroom.

After a quick shower, Emma changed her clothes and grabbed her bag and her cell phone. Looking over at her night stand she grabbed Neal’s phone as well. Today was the day her and Neal had class together, and she hadn’t been looking forward to it, unsure of what to say when she finds Neal.

Leaving her dorm and heading towards class, Emma begins to play different scenarios in her head of how this conversation would go.

Would it be a misunderstanding and everything was fine? Would he still be selling drugs? Would he get mad and leave her? Should she leave him?

Arriving in class, Emma looked up and sat Neal, sitting in his seat. He looked down slightly and saw her staring at him.

“Emma! Hey!” Neal called, raising his arm in case she couldn’t see him.

She wasn’t ready to speak to him yet, so she shook her head no and pointed to the seat in front of her, and sat down, refusing to look up at him.

When class was over, Emma felt her heart pounding in her chest and quickly got her bag ready to leave, calling herself a coward for not being able to face Neal.

Before being able to stand up from her seat Emma felt a present standing beside her. “Hey, is everything okay?” Emma heard Neal said, standing beside her.

“Yeah, we tend to distract each other in class, and with finals coming up I wanted to be able to concentrate.” Emma lied, unable to make eye contact with him.

“Well that makes sense.” Neal smiles.

With her bag packed Emma stands up and tries to make her way past Neal. After receiving a confused look from him Emma made her way towards the door, finally making it outside.  
“Emma! Emma wait!” Neal shouted, confused as to why Emma won't talk to him.

Stopping in her tracks, Emma turns around quickly, causing Neal to step back. “Here!” Emma said sternly, shoving his phone into his chest.

“Wha…” Neal looked at his phone and read the message that was still left on the screen. Emma watched all the color drained from his face, confirming her suspicion.

“You lied! You said you were done! That those guys are idiots! Why did you lie!” Emma yelled.

“Emma… I didn’t lie.” Neal struggled to get out. Running his fingers through his hair, trying to figure out what to say next.

“Well that message on your cell phone proved otherwise.” Emma said, feeling her heart pounding in her chest, she just wanted this conversation to be over.

“Emma, please listen to me. I didn’t lie. I am out of that game. I don’t sell to random potheads or druggies anymore. I promise you that! Whoever sent this is just messing around, or someone who thought I was still in it.” Neal said.

“Prove it to me.” Emma said, crossing her arms.

“What?” Neal said, the look of panic crossing his face.

“I want you to prove it to me. Message them back in front of me, telling them that you no longer sell. I want to read the message before you send it, and I want to watch you send it!” Emma said, surprising herself with how confident she was.

“Okay, okay, fine. I will tell them.” Neal caved. Typing the message on his phone, he waited a moment, before handing his phone to Emma. “Read it over and you can even hit send.”

Taking his phone Emma read his message.

Hey man, not sure who this is, but a bit too late. I haven't sold anything for a while. I got out of that. Try Graham, an old buddy of mine. He might be able to help you out.

After rereading the message, she didn’t like the whole thing, but didn’t want to argue anymore. She hit send and handed the phone back to Neal.

“So are we good?” Neal asked, giving her a cute boyish smile.

“Yes, we are good. I’m sorry I freaked out but do you understand where I was coming from?” Emma asked, now feeling slightly silly for losing her trust.

“I understand where you are coming from. I understand how confusing this must have been, but I have to ask, How did you get my phone?” Neal asked.

“The other night when you surprised me, when you were in my dorm, well the next morning I went to take a shower and found the phone sitting in between my toilet and my sink, it must have fallen out of your packet.” Emma said.

“Oh, weird.” Was all Neal said. Shaking his head he looked back up at Emma. “Do you want to get lunch in a couple hours? I know we both have time off at 2 pm.”

Taking a deep breath Emma smiled. “Sure that sounds good.” She took a step towards him and kissed him gently. “I'll see you later.” Emma said, as she turned and walked away, still feeling a bit unsure.

After meeting with Neal for lunch, Emma acted like everything was okay, but there was a voice in the back of her head that was screaming at her that something was wrong. Halfway through lunch Neal had excused himself to the bathroom, making it a point to bring his cell phone.

Emma felt like something was wrong. When lunch was over, Neal walked Emma to her dorm and told her that a few of his buddies were going out that night, so he wouldn’t be over. She said okay, kissed him goodbye and ran inside.

When she made it up her stairs and made her way to her door. Before entering her room she took out her phone and saw that Regina had called 3 times. Sighing she made her way down the hallway to the other side of the building to Regina’s door.

Emma knocked twice, hoping Regina would be there. “Regina? It’s me.” When there was no answer Emma tried again. “Regina, I know you are in there and I know you are mad. I am sorry about missing your phone calls the past few days. I just wanted to come by and tell you that I think you are right.”  
Emma waited a few moments before she turned to make her way back towards her dorm. Before she was able to make a step Regina’s door flew open, to reveal Regina standing there, with red bags under her eyes and her eyes were bloodshot and glossy.,

She has been crying. Emma thought to herself.

“Emma…” Regina’s voice sounded shocked, but also was a bit horse.

“Regina, please. I am so sorry for ignoring you and I didn’t mean to say the things I did at the coffee shop. I was an idiot.” Emma began.

“Well, at least we can agree on one thing.” Regina said, smiling slightly, which in return caused Emma to smile.

“And…” Emma urged her on.

“And I am sorry too. You know I am not against your relationship, I just don’t want to see you get hurt.” Regina said.

“Can I come in?” Emma asked.

Shaking her head yes, Regina moved away from the door and let Emma walk through. When she was in Regina’s room she sat in the spinning desk chair that she would steal from Regina when they lived together.

“God I have missed this chair.” Emma said, spinning herself in the chair.

“It better still be here when you leave my room.” Regina smirked. “So what is this I hear about me being right?” Regina said, sitting on her bed.

“Well, I am not sure if you are right, but the other day Neal surprised me, by being in my dorm, and we had a movie night. Well the next morning I woke up to find him gone, and I found out that he had left his phone in my bathroom. I found some messages on there that made me believe that he still might be selling drugs.” Emma confessed.

“I see. And you are still with him because…?” Regina pushed.

“Well I confronted him, and he told me he wasn’t doing it anymore and that it might just be an old client. I made him message them saying he won't be selling anymore. I read the message, and he had me send it.” Emma said.

“So, what’s the problem?” Regina asked.

“Something still doesn’t feel right. I feel like he might be lying to me.” Emma confessed.

Suddenly Regina stood up and made her way to her closet.

“Here, put this on.” Regina said, throwing Emma A pair of black leggings and a black long sleeved shirt.

“What is this for?” Emma asked.

“We are going undercover. Now put those on. It will be dark in a couple of hours. Once it’s dark, we can take my car and drive over to where Neal hangs out. We will watch him for the night and if he is selling anything or doing anything we will know about it” Regina said proudly.

“Regina, I don’t know if this is a good idea, this feels like stalking.” Emma said.

“Don’t think of it as stalking, think of it as gaining knowledge. Come on Emma, this is the best way to find out, since you are having a hard time trusting him.” Regina practically begged.

Sighing, Emma got up from the chair and began changing into Regina’s clothes. Once changed Emma looked towards Regina. “Okay, let’s do this.”

When the sun was almost down Emma and Regina were in Regina’s car, sitting outside of Neal’s dorm hall.

“This is taking too long.” Regina said, breaking the silence.

“It was your idea. What do you want me to text him asking him to do something entertaining because I am watching?” Emma said, getting bored herself.

Before Regina could respond, they both say the front door to the dorm hall open. Both of them sank in their seats, when Neal emerged from the building and got into his car. When he started to pull away from the building, Regina started her car.

“What are you doing?” Emma asked in a panic.

“What do you think I am doing, I am going to follow him. That was the whole point of us coming out. “ Regina snapped back, backing out of the parking pace and began following Neal at a respectable distance.

After driving for about 10 minutes Regina was the first one to break the silence, recognizing the road and the trees that surround them “Emma…”

“What is it?” Emma asked, starting to feel paranoid.

“I think I know where he is going.” Regina stated.

“Where?” Emma asked, sitting up in her seat more.

“I hope I am wrong, but I think he is heading to where Graham lives.” Regina exclaimed.

Emma leaned back in her seat, feeling her heart shatter.

After another minute of driving they saw Neal pull into a driveway, and Regina pulled over on the side of the road.

“Is... Is this…” Emma couldn’t get the words out of her mouth.

“Graham’s…” Regina finished for her. “Emma, I am so sorry.” Regina reached over and placed her hand on Emma’s knee, hoping to comfort her.

In a flash, Emma quickly got out of the car and quietly as she could shut the car door. Regina followed her,

“Emma! Emma where are you going?” Regina whispered yelled.

Turning towards Regina, Emma whispered back to her. “I need to see it. I need to know if he is selling or doing, or both.”

Without another word, both women made their way through the trees and hid behind some bushes. They were able to hear and see both Neal and Graham.

“Hey, how's the old lady?” Graham asked Neal handing him a beer, while they sat on his deck.

“We are good, had a bit of a rough moment earlier today though.” Neal confessed, accepting the beer and taking a sip of it.

“Oh yeah? What happened?”

“Well, I accidentally left my phone at her place and an old client of mine messaged me, asking for some of my stuff.” Neal said.

“Oh shit dude, that must have been awkward, what did you do? Did you finally tell her?” Graham pressed.

“Nah man, how could I? She is so sweet and innocent, but I really need the money. I will stop eventually.” Neal Confessed.

“Well, you will save money fast if you would stop smoking your own stash.” Graham joked.

“Speaking of…” Neal reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a bag. Pulling out two items, wrapped tightly in white paper, he handed one to Graham.

Laughing slightly, Graham gladly took it and began taking out his lighter, lighting it and inhaling. “You always have the best stuff.”

Emma stood up and started walking back to the car, her heart broke into a million pieces.


	7. Chapter 7

Regina and Emma made it back to Emma’s dorm. Regina was sitting on Emma’s bed watching Emma pace back and forth, trying to wrap her head around what she saw and heard.

“What if I didn’t hear him right?” Emma asked. Regina knew she wasn’t looking for an answer, but she responded anyway.

“Emma, you and I heard the same exact thing. Both of us didn’t make this up in our heads.” Regina replied.

“Well, maybe he will stop.” Emma said, causing Regina to straighten up in surprise. Before she could get a word in Emma continued. “What if he is using the money to pay for college, or maybe this whole thing, isn’t as bad as we are making it out to be.”

Regina could see a hint of hope, settling in Emma’s eyes. Regina knew this look all too well. She had that look when she was with Graham. “Emma…” Regina started.

“I’m serious, Regina, what if, when he graduates he will stop selling? What if all of this was just to get himself through school?” Emma began to ramble.

“Emma, if that would be the case then why is he smoking it? If he is selling to get himself through college, which don’t get me started on how wrong that is, then why does he smoke it? You saw it with your own eyes that he was smoking.” Regina said, lifting herself off of Emma’s bed and making her way over to Emma, placing her hands on her shoulders to get her to pay attention.

“Regina, maybe this isn’t as bad as we think. Maybe we are overreacting. We don't even know his side of the story.” Emma said, trying her hardest to believe her own words.

“Why are you defending him? He is lying to you!” Regina practically yelled, shaking Emma’s shoulders slightly.

“I trust him.” Emma simply stated.

Letting go of Emma’s shoulders, Regina lets out a small sigh before reaching for her phone. “Fine, you trust him, that's all that matters right?” Regina asked, a slight sarcasm in her voice, while dialing a number on her phone.

“Yes, it is. Who are you calling?” Emma asked, slightly annoyed.

“August.” Regina answered placing her phone next to her ear. Emma’s face suddenly fell. Emma reached for Regina’s phone, but Regina was faster.

“No, wait! Please! Don’t tell him. I don’t need another lecture right now!” Emma struggles, trying to grab the phone from Regina. Her heart beat faster as she heard it ringing.

“Hello?” August said.

“Emma, let go...EMMA!” Was all August could hear Regina say, when he heard a loud thud. Suddenly he heard some rustling and a breathless Emma on the other end.

“August?”

“Emma? What is going on? Are you guys okay?” August asked, about ready to make his way over to one of their dorms.

“Yes, we are fine. Sorry to scare you. I was going to call you but then Regina was trying to beat me to it. We wanted to know if you wanted to go get coffee tomorrow” Emma rushed out, cringing at her stupid question.

August was a bit dumbfounded. “Coffee... Emma we get coffee practically every day, we have never asked. Why are you asking now?”

“I was thinking we could try the new coffee shop the next town over. They are a bit more pricey, but we can always try something new, right?” Emma said, hoping he would take the bait.

“Oh…well I guess it’s okay. Let me get a hold of Ruby and see if she can make it.” August said, still unsure if that was the real reason for all of this commotion.

“Okay, bye!” Emma hung up the phone, without waiting for a response. When she looked up she was met with a glaring Regina. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her lips were puckered ever so slightly, but the scariest part were her eyes. Emma felt like they were piercing right through her, Emma could only look down at the floor, feeling slightly defeated.

“What the hell!” Regina sternly said through gritted teeth.

“I’m sorry Regina. I know you hate it when people take your phone, but I don’t want to deal with another lecture right now. I want to figure this out on my own. You are all going to want to take the side that makes the most sense to you, without knowing the whole story. Please let me try to talk with Neal first. We don’t know why he is doing this. There very much could be a logical explanation for it.”

“Emma…” Regina started, in a much softer tone. “The reason we lecture you, is that we want the best for you. You had that whole intervention with me, when I was practically stalking Graham after our break up. This is what we do. We help each other.”

Smiling slightly, Emma finally looked up. “You did get a little crazy.”

Laughing a little, Regina released her arms, and let them hand by her side, walking towards Emma. “We just don’t want the same thing to happen to you.” She said, pulling Emma into a hug.

After a moment, they pulled apart. “Please let me tell them.” Emma simply said. Regina shook her head yes.

A moment later, both of their phones vibrated, letting them know someone had messaged the group.

Ruby: Hey guys! August told me about the new coffee place tomorrow. Is there any chance we can do that another day? We can go to our normal coffee place tomorrow, but I don’t have time to leave town.

Emma: No problem! Just a fun idea I had. Maybe next week?

With that, Emma locked her phone and tossed it on her bed, before doing the same with herself.

“Well I see that you have plans for the night, I will leave you to it.” Regina said, chuckling slightly.  
“Wait!” Emma said, sitting up in bed once Regina reached the door. “Could…could you stay with me tonight. It’s late and I really don’t want to be alone.” Emma said shyly.

Silently answering her, Regina reached down and took her shoes off, before climbing into bed with Emma.

The next morning, Emma awoke to see that Regina had already left. Chuckling slightly, Emma remembered how much of an Early riser Regina was.

Getting out of bed Emma checked the time and realized she had an hour before she would meet with everyone at the coffee shop.

Almost an hour later, Emma found herself walking into the coffee shop with August and Ruby, sitting in their normal seats, waiting. “Hey guys!” Emma said, getting their attention.

“Good Morning, my sweet beautiful Emma!” Though August said this to her, every morning, it never failed to make her smile.

“Regina here yet?” Emma asked.

“No, we haven't seen her.” Ruby answered.

“Huh...that’s weird. Maybe her morning run ran later than what she expected.” Emma thought out loud, before turning towards the counter to buy her coffee.

After a couple of minutes Emma returned with a coffee in hand, and sat down in her usual spot. Once the conversation started between the three of them, they started to hear the coffee shop door slam open, only to be greeted by a tousled looking Regina. Her hair was a giant mess, there was a slight rip in her shirt, all of her makeup was smeared and there were small spots on her arms that were turning into bruises.

“OH MY GOD, REGINA!” August shouted, quickly standing up to help her to her seat, only to have the other two follow him. “What the hell happened?”

After the three of them helped Regina to her seat, she took a deep breath and looked at them. “I’m fine, really. Just a bit shaken.” Regina confessed.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Emma pressed.  
Regina took another deep breath, about to explain what happened, when the Café shop door opened again, and a deep voice erupted from behind them. “Emma…”

Emma looked up to find Neal standing in the doorway looking just as bad as Regina. “Neal? Oh my god!” Emma stood up. Looking at both Regina and Neal.

“Go tend to him Emma. I have these two.” Regina stated, barely able to hold eye contact with Emma.

“Regina, please tell us what happened.” August said again, as Emma went to tend to Neal’s wounds.

“I got mugged on the street. I was on my way here to meet up with you guys when this guy came out of nowhere and grabbed my money and was throwing me up against the wall.” Regina choked out.

“We should call the police.” Ruby chimed in.

“No, I didn’t get a good look at his face, and I was right by the Chinese restaurant, the one where they just took down the camera’s. They must be waiting for people to walk that way, before they attack.” Regina said, trying to shift to a comfortable position, before flinching in pain.

“Let me get you some ice.” August offered, before standing up and heading for the counter.

“Ruby, could you hand me my purse. I have some Meds in there.” Regina stated.

Ruby grabbed her purse that was near where August was standing before, and opened it up, only to see Regina’s wallet, that still had money inside it. Looking over at Emma and Neal, then back at Regina, Ruby suddenly became suspicious.

Handing Regina the meds, Ruby knelled down next to Regina, with her wallet in her hands. Regina’s eyes suddenly grew large.

“Want to tell me what really happened?”


	8. Chapter 8

Regina sat there in silence for a moment, trying to think of what to say. “Well, they did take all of my money.”

“Really? They didn’t take, what looks like well over a hundred dollars in your wallet? Regina just tell me what really happened.” Ruby insisted.

Looking up Regina could see August returning with a bag of ice in his hand. “Fine, but this is for your ears only. Meet me in my dorm later tonight after dinner.” Regina rushed out, receiving a nod from Ruby, who quickly placed the money back in Regina’s purse.

“Here you go. How are you feeling?” August asked, handing Regina the bag of ice he had gotten from the workers.

“I am okay, just a little sore and shaken.” Regina said, taking the ice from him, keeping it in her hands.

“Are you sure you don’t remember what they looked like?” August pressed.

Regina gave an irritated sigh. “No, I told you that before!” Regina yelled. “ I went walking over here to meet up with you guys and I got body slammed into the back of the Chinese restaurant. It was just one man, he was taller than me and ...and…” Regina trailed off, her eyes moving from side to side like she was looking for something.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to finish.” August said, placing his hand on Regina’s knee, causing her to flinch a little. Removing his hand, he looked up at her in confusion. “Are you okay?”

Nodding Regina took a deep breath in. “I have a bruise forming on my knee. I must have hit it against the wall or something.” Regina said.

“Regina, this guy could have killed you, you have a bruised knee, your shirt is ripped, you have bruised all over, and I think you may have fractured a rib. I strongly recommend that we go to the police station to at least make a record of this.” August said sternly.

Regina took a breath, trying not to breathe too deeply. “Let me think about it, I just need to process everything first. Everything happened so fast that I just needed a moment to myself. I hope you guys understand.” Regina said, looking at both August and Ruby, who made their way back to their seats, but leaning forward, neither one of them wanting to be too far from her.

“Neal, please wait!” They heard Emma say as Neal was leaving the Coffee shop.

Turning around to face Emma, Neal places his hands on her shoulders. “Can we talk about this at dinner tonight, I just don’t feel right talking about this right now?”

Emma was about to speak up in protest when August interrupted her. “Hate to intrude on this, but we were all going to go out to dinner tonight and the more people around Regina, the better I would feel. Please come with us.”

Neal looked over at Regina, who attempted to straighten up, and looked back at him sternly. “Sure, we can all talk about what happened.” Neal stated, before leaving, causing Regina to shiver with anxiety.

Regina stayed in the coffee shop for most of the day, with her friends coming and going. Emma stopped by a few times between classes, handing her a new outfit to wear, and handing her some assignments that she had missed. She knew she didn’t want to chance running into anyone she didn’t want to, and if she made it back to her dorm, she would never want to come out. Having found the comfortable position in the chair, Regina didn’t dare move unless she had to.

Around 5 O’clock that evening, it was just Regina and August sitting in the coffee shop, having Regina drink her 5th cup of Hot Apple Cider. “I think we should start heading toward the Diner and meet up with the others.” August suggested, standing up from his chair, reaching his arms out to help Regina up, which she accepted gladly.

Once sitting down for dinner, Regina let out a sigh of relief when Neal hadn’t shown up yet. Only for her relief to be squished, when he showed up just as their drinks were arriving.

Once everyone was settled, August couldn’t hold back anymore. “Regina, can you tell me again what you remember?”

“August…” Regina started, in an irritated yet defeated tone.

“Regina, I know you don’t want to go to the police, but can you please tell me everything that happened, in as much detail that you can, it might make you feel better mentally, you have been on edge all day.”

“Okay, okay.” Regina sighed. “After I went for my morning run, I had changed and was making my way down to you guys, when I felt someone suddenly pull at my arm and my shirt, pulling me behind the Chinese restaurant. He had slammed me against the wall, and while I was catching my breath from having the wind taken out of me, he was taking things out of my purse.” Regina stated, saying the story she had said over and over in her head throughout the day.

“What did he look like?” August asked.

“I didn’t see his face. He had on a black mask.” Regina recited.

“Why didn’t you fight back?” Emma asked this time, choking back tears.

“I tried. He was a lot stronger than I am. By the time he took my money out and had it in the bag, I finally was able to catch my breath. I lunged at the bag, so I could get my money back, and whatever else he took, but he was faster. We fought for a moment…” Regina stopped. She didn’t know where to go from here.

“How did you get away?” August asked.

“It was me.” Neal spoke up.

“What?” Emma asked, looking at him, confusion written all over her face. “What do you mean it was you?”

“I heard some voices over by the restaurant and I went to check it out when I saw Regina and the mugger. He had Regina in a stronghold, so I tore him off of her, and fought him for a minute. I got banged up a bit too, but not as bad as Regina. I scared the guy off, but he got away with her stuff.” Neal said, locking eyes with Regina the entire time.

“If you guys left the spot together, how did you guys enter the coffee shop a minute apart?” Ruby asked.

“I didn’t want to be marked a hero. Had Regina go in first, and I waited.” Neal said in a slow, almost monotone voice.

“Regina, why didn’t you say anything about Neal helping you?” Emma asked.

Regina looked down as Emma spoke, unable to look her in the eye. “I... I…um…” Regina stumbled.

“I told her not to.” Neal interrupted.

“Okay, but can we just…” Emma started.

“Can we talk about something else?! I am not comfortable with this conversation anymore and I want to get my mind off of what happened!” Regina snapped, causing everyone to jump slightly.

August reached across the table and took Regina’s hand, holding it softly, noting the scabs forming on her knuckles. “Of course we can, but you can’t hold this in.”

After dinner, everyone was making it back to their dorms, when Ruby announced she was going to walk Regina to her dorm. Once inside, Regina let out a long sigh and carefully climbed into bed.

“Don’t get too comfortable, I want to hear the real story.” Ruby said, grabbing Regina’s comfy chair and making herself at home.

“And you shall receive it, but would you mind if I showered. I feel gross.” Regina said, not waiting for Ruby to respond while she made her way to the bathroom.

10 minutes later, Regain emerged from the bathroom in her comfy pajamas, feeling slightly better, making her way over to her bed and sitting down.

“Okay, no spill!” Ruby exclaimed.

“Okay, but this comes with a bit of background information. Emma found out that Neal was not only selling, but he was doing drugs as well.” Regina breathed out.

“Wait, I thought she put a pin in that. I thought she confronted him, and he texted an old client claiming he was out of the game?” Ruby asked.  
“Yes, she did do that, but she felt unsure. She asked for my help on what to do, so ended up having a bit of a stake out. She wanted to get to the bottom of this and so did I. We ended up following him to Graham’s house.” Regina stated, taking in a breath.

“Oh no…” Ruby breathed.

“I figured since we were parked out front, we would watch for a while. Emma had other plans, and got out of that car. I followed her and we saw and heard it ourselves. Neal is actively doing and selling drugs.” Regina said sadly.

“When did you guys find this out?” Ruby asked.

“Last night…” Regina confessed.

“Oh jeez…”

“Emma didn’t want to be alone last night, and she began theorizing innocent reasons as to why he would be doing this, so I ended up staying the night. I woke up early and decided to get to the bottom of this, because it hurts to see Emma in all this pain.” Regain said, tears filling up in her eyes.

“It’s hurting all of us.” Ruby agreed.

“So I made my way downtown and asked around, I wanted to find Neal. I found him. I confronted him. He was standing outside a brick building smoking a cigarette. As soon as he saw me, he knew what I was doing there. He put his cigarette quickly and put his hands up, telling me to calm down before I even reached him. I had backed him into a wall and started yelling at him. I was so angry that he was hurting Emma, how none of this was fair to her. He soon grew irritated, like he had heard this all before, and told me that I needed to mind my own business, that this was between him and Emma. He…” Regina took a shaking breath in, feeling her heart pounding hard in her chest, she was sure, Ruby could hear it.

“Regina,” Ruby started, reaching forward and placing her hand on top of Regina’s. “You don’t have to finish if you don’t want to.”

“No, I have to.” Regina sniffed. “August is right, I can’t keep this inside.”

“Okay.” Ruby said softly.  
“He soon freaked out at me, and grabbed me by my arms and slammed me against the wall.” Regina stated, running her hands along her arms, where the bruises had formed. “He started yelling at me, things I couldn’t quite understand. I felt him loosen his grip and not wanting it to escalate any more I went to leave, but he caught me by the shirt…” Regina took another sharp breath in.

“That’s why there was that rip in your shirt.” Ruby concluded.

Shaking her head, Regina continued. “Once he got a hold of my shirt, he slammed me up against the opposite wall, I hit my knee as he did so.”

Ruby remembered earlier in the day when August placed his hand on Regina’s knee, claiming she must have bruised it.

“ I knew I had to defend myself, so I turned around to face him and I began to charge at him. I began punching him, causing his black eye and bloody lip. He got a few good punches in as well. He soon pushed me away, and I was back against a wall. I went to get ready for round 2 when he threw something at me. He threw it hard and it hit my rib cage. I don’t think he meant to hit me, I think he meant to scare me, because as soon as it made contact with me, he ran to me and began telling me how sorry he was.” Tears were streaming down Regina’s face, as she placed her hand lightly on her rib cage.

“Oh Regina! I am so sorry. How… How did the fight stop?” Ruby asked, getting up from her seat to sit next to Regina.

“The fight was pretty much over once he hit my ribs. He started telling me he didn’t mean to, that he only meant to scare me, and begging that I didn't tell Emma. I was never going to tell her I went to see him in the first place. It would betray her trust. We soon heard people coming, and I was able to walk, so I grabbed my bag that I had dropped on the ground during the fight and quickly left that area, and that's when you guys saw me.” Regina finished.

“Did you guys agree on the mugging story?” Ruby asked.

“No… He heard it for the first time at dinner.” Regina confessed.

“Then why did he cover for you? He could have thrown you right under the bus.” Ruby exclaimed.

“I don’t know, I really don't.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Neal, will you please sit still, I am trying to help you.” Emma said, holding a cotton ball with medicine on it, near Neal’s eye.

“It hurts, why can’t I just put a band aid on it or something.” Neal complained.

“If you do that, I am going to start calling you a pirate.” Emma joked, laughing slightly at Neal's disgusted face.

“Emma, you don’t need to take care of me, I can take care of myself.” Neal stated, standing up from the chair he was sitting in, walking to the other side of Emma’s dorm.

“Neal, I know you can, but you did something brave and wonderful. I want to repay you for saving Regina’s life!” Emma boosted.

“Emma…” Neal trailed off, looking down at the floor.

After a few moments of silence, Neal straightened up a bit and grabbed the first aid kit from Emma’s bed and began fixing up some cuts on his face, hearing Emma give out a small sigh in defect.

When Neal was all clean and bandaged up, he closed up the first aid kit and placed it on Emma’s desk, refusing to make eye contact.

“Neal…” Emma started, standing up, making her way over to him.

“No, Emma!” Neal said sternly, looking over at the door.

“Please, please just stay.” Emma pleaded, earning her a sad look from Neal.

“Okay.” Was all Neal could say.

“Lets, watch a movie or something and then you can go.” Emma said quickly, trying to figure out why Neal was pulling away from her.

“Okay, that sounds good.” Neal said softly, walking over to her bed, sitting down, waiting for Emma.

Emma had picked the longest movie she could find. “ How about Titanic?”

“Good.” Neal stated quickly.

Half-way through the movie, Emma was no longer concentrating on the movie, instead she was concentrating on Neal. Trying to figure out a way to keep him here longer, hoping if he stayed longer than he would eventually open up and talk to her, instead of pulling away. An idea finally struck Emma.

“Hey Neal?” Emma spoke quietly.

“Yeah?” Neal asked, still looking at the TV screen.

“Kiss me.”

With a moment of hesitation, Neal turned his head and kissed her. Once their lips locked, Emma lifted her hand and placed it on Neal’s cheek, deepening the kiss. Soon their kiss became more passionate and neither one of them were caring to finish the movie. When the credits began to roll, Emma and Neal were laying down, facing each other under the covers, their clothes on the floor below them.

“Oh, wow.” Emma breathed, still catching her breath, wrapping her arms around Neal, feeling his chest rise and fall with every breath he took. She closed her eyes, savoring this moment, hoping it would last forever.

“Hey Emma?” Neal asked, rubbing her arm that lay across him.

“Hmm” Emma hummed in response.

“I need to talk to you about something. It’s kind of important.” Neal said.

Opening her eyes, Emma looked over at Neal who was staring at her. “Everything okay?” She asked.

“That’s difficult to answer right now. How about we get dressed and I will talk to you about a couple of things.” Neal suggested.

Nodding, Emma rose from the bed and looked for her clothes. Once they were both fully dressed, and sitting at the edge of Emma’s bed, Neal took a deep breath in. “Okay.”

After a few moments of silence Emma decided to speak. “Neal, if you want to tell me what is wrong, you are going to have to speak.” She tried to joke.

“I’m leaving.” Neal blurted out.

“What do you mean leaving? I know you are graduating very soon, are you going back home?” Emma asked.

“No, I got a job offer and it's a really good job that has to do with why I came to school. I think that I am going to take it.” Neal confessed, looking down at the floor.

“Neal, that's great! Where is it?” Emma asked, relaxing a little.

“Tallahassee.” Neal said, finally looking at Emma.

Emma felt like her world was coming down. Was he really going to move to the bottom of the country? Her heart began pounding in her chest, and she was doing her best to hold in her tears. “Oh, I mean, that's great, but where does that leave us?” Emma asked sadly, cursing the tear that escaped her eye and was now rolling down her cheek.

Neal walked over and wiped the tear off her cheek before cupping her face with his hand, looking down at her smiling. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk with you most about.” He said, a small smile still resting on his face. “Would you like to come with me?”

“Wha…” Emma was trying to wrap her head around what he had just asked her. “You…you want me to move with you to Tallahassee?” Emma asked.

“Yeah! I mean why not? You have always wanted to travel, and we practically live together as is. I have clothes over here and you have clothes over at my place.” Neal began to ramble on about the benefits of living together.

“Do you think we are ready for that?” Emma asked, still uncertain, a million questions buzzing through her head.

“I believe we are, Emma, I love you and you love me. I have a great opportunity waiting for me down there and I really want you to stay in my life. We can work out the details later, but right now, you are what is important to me. If you don’t want to move, I can find a job closer to here, and we can move in when you graduate in 4 months.” Neal said, rubbing his hands up and down Emma’s arms.

“Okay.” Emma whispered.

“Okay?” Neal asked, his smile growing wider and wider.

“Okay, let’s do this. Let’s move to Tallahassee!” Emma said, smiling. She was beginning to feel excited, but there was a small pull of something, but shouldn’t place what it was.

“Really! Oh, Emma!!” Neal exclaimed, pulling her in for a hug. Once she was wrapped in his arms, he lifted her up slightly, sighing happily once her feet were back on the ground. Emma saw his eyes light up, and she decided to ignore the nagging feeling she was getting. “I can’t wait to tell everyone!” Neal said.

“I think that we should wait, wait until we know that I can move down there. I want to try to transfer my credits to a different school and possibly find a job. Once those are all taken care of and everything is set in stone then we can tell people.” Emma said, feeling slightly nervous to tell her friends and family about moving.

“Okay.” Neal said, still with the biggest smile Emma had even seen painted on his face. Moving forward, Neal gave Emma a kiss on her forehead. After a few moments Neal pulled away and looked at Emma. “Em, I am really glad that we are doing this. I have to go though. I am going to call my dad and tell him the big news.”

“I am glad that you guys are working things out.” Emma smiled. “Okay, go have fun!”

When Neal left, Emma sat down on her bed, the feeling of dread started to sink in. What was she going to tell her family and friends? Regina was never going to forgive her if she left. Maybe this new job was a great way for him to never have to touch drugs again. Emma’s mind began to wonder, weighing the pros and cons, but one thing she knew for sure, was she was not going to live in a place with drugs. With that in mind Emma went to her computer and began searching for college in Tallahassee.

After a couple of days of searching for colleges, Emma had applied to a couple of different schools that she liked, and started to apply for jobs and looking for apartments they could afford. Emma was starting to feel better about moving once she started working on the details of moving. Emma was still struggling with the idea of telling everyone, but decided that it was time to mention the idea to her parents at least.

Sitting on her bed, after having dinner with her friends, Emma decided it was time to tell her parents. Nothing was permanently set in stone yet, but that way things were looking, it was going to be soon. After a moment of hesitation Emma dialed her mother's number.

After a couple of rings Emma heard the high-pitched yet sweet voice of her mother “Hello?”

“Why hello Snow White.” Emma said, chuckling slightly.

“Oh Emma! I was hoping you were going to call! I am so glad you did. I have to tell you, guess who I ran into the other day?” Mary Margaret's voice, beamed through the phone.

“I give up, tell me.” Emma insisted, more than happy to have the conversation steering in a different direction than she originally intended.

Emma listened to her mother ramble on about some she knew who she ran into at the grocery store. How she hadn’t seen them since Emma was a little girl. “Oh Emma, it was so cute the first time you met him, he had a small beard that was beginning to turn white, and I was fearing you were going to call him Santa, but you ran right up to him and called him Gepeto! Oh gosh Emma, you have always loved naming people after your favorite fairy tales.” Mary Margret gushed.

“I wasn’t very original was I?” Emma joked slightly. “Hey, mom? I kinda need to talk to you about something, it’s really important.” Emma said, a wave of anxiety hitting her.

“It's okay Emma, you can tell me anything.” Mary Margret said, hoping to ease her daughter.

“So you know how I told you about Neal?” Emma asked.

“Right, your boyfriend! Are you guys still together?”

“Yes, we are. Actually, he is going to be graduating early and already has a really good job opportunity waiting for him. When he graduates, he has asked me to move in with him.” Emma said, liking the way it sounded.

“Oh Emma! That's amazing! I do ask your father and I meet him before you do that, but Oh gosh I am so excited for you! Have you guys picked out apartments yet?” Her mother asked.

Guilt suddenly hit Emma. Taking in a shaking deep breath, Emma revealed to her mother where they were looking. “Um... Tallahassee.” Emma mumbled.

“I’m… I’m sorry, did you just say Tallahassee?” her mother asked, causing Emma to jump slightly, even though her mother wasn’t yelling, only questioning.

“Um, yeah. Neal got a really good job opportunity down there. He offered to turn it down and find something closer up here, but everyone knows I’m not going to live up here much longer. I didn’t want to be the reason he turned down a job. I thought about transferring schools, or just meeting him down thereafter I graduate.” Emma said, suddenly like the sound of finishing school up here than moving when she was done. “I have even started applying for jobs. Nothing is set in stone yet but it's an idea with a plan.” Emma rushed out, anxiously waiting for her mother's response.

“Well, it seems as though you guys have really thought about this. Your father and I will support you in any decision you make, but we only wish you will finish school. You said something about transferring schools, have you looked at any yet?” Emma noticed her mother’s voice was not as excited as she hoped it would be, but understood why.

“Yeah! I found a great school down there, it's called  Keiser University. It has a great Criminal Justice program, and they want me down there. I sent over my transcript and credit to make sure they will all go through. I am making sure my scholarships will go through.” Emma said, grateful she is able to report all of this to her mother.

“Oh Emma! We are really going to miss you!” Emma could hear her mother crying on the other end of the phone.

“Oh Mom! Don't cry! I will come home for the holidays and hopefully birthdays and big events. I promise!” Emma tried to soothe her mother's crying.

“I know you will.” Her mother sniffed. “You seem to have everything figured out which is great. Oh!”

“Mom? Everything's okay?” Emma asked after hearing her mother exclaim.

“Oh, yes! Sorry, there was a knock at my door.” Mary  Margrete confessed.

“Answer your door, and we will talk about all of this later okay. I love you Mom.” Emma said, smiling into her phone.

“Oh I love you too my little Princess.” Her mother said before hanging up.

After  hanging up her phone, Emma realized she had been crying. After sitting on her bed to calm herself, Emma decided to check her Email, to see if she has heard back from  Keiser University yet.

After opening her Email, Emma could only sit back and take in the message she was sent not even five minutes ago.

_ Dear Ms. Swan, _

_ We would like to thank you for your interest in  _ _ Keiser _ _ University. Unfortunately at this time, some classes you have taken at Salem State, we do not offer here. We would only be able to honor 60 out of your 100 credits you have earned so far. _

_ We do hope to see you in the Spring, _

_Zoey_ _Kingsley_

_ Financial Administration _

_ Keiser _ _ University _


	10. Chapter 10

It had been 2 weeks since Neal asked Emma to move in with him at the end of the semester. With only 4 weeks left of the Semester Emma was starting to feel anxious and knew she had to tell her friends that she was leaving. She would tell them at dinner that night.

Ruby, August, Regina and Emma met outside the dining hall like they did most nights.

“Where is your Prince Charming?” Regina asked, noticing that Neal would not be joining them that evening.

“He has some stuff to do, and could you not call him that. I used to call my dad that when I was little, it's a little weird.” Emma cringed.

“Oh! Daddy!” Ruby said in a sultry voice.

“Okay! Alright! No more! Gross!” Emma rushed out, shaking out the chill that went up her spine, but smiling when she heard her friends laughing at how uncomfortable she was. “Let’s go get some food.”

When they all had their plate of food, and began digging in. Emma found her courage and took a deep breath.

“Hey guy? I really need to talk with you about something.” Emma confessed.

“You’re pregnant.” Ruby said plainly, laughing slightly at her own joke.

“No! Of course not. Come on guys this is serious.” Emma said, feeling slightly defeated.

“I’m sorry Emma, you have our undivided attention.” August announced, nudging Ruby.

“Okay, so it's about Neal.” Emma said, taking in a deep breath, noticing how everyone leaned in a little. “As you guys know, he is graduating in about a month. Well when he graduates, he is going to move down to Tallahassee.” Emma said, hoping the blush on her face was as bad as she thought it was.

“Wait, so he is just leaving you?” Ruby asked. “Just like that?”

“Well not exactly. He asked me to move with him.” Emma confessed.

“Wait, so are you just dropping out of school to follow your little boyfriend.” Regina accused harshly.

“What? No. I mean, originally I was going to transfer to another school, but that wasn’t going to work. So he is going to move down there first and then when I graduate I am going to move down there.” Emma said sternly.

“Well, I hope you know what you are doing.” Regina said quietly.

“I do.”

“Then all I have to say is, Congratulations.” Regina reached across the table and grabbed Emma's hand, holding it in hers.

Emma only looked back at Regina, shocked that Regina would even hold her hand in the first place, but that she was supporting her with moving in with Neal.

“Yes Emma, Congratulations. I sure hope you guys have everything figured out, but we will always be here for you.” August said, rubbing Emma’s arms slightly, as he was eyeing Regina, taken aback at what he was looking at.

“Yes, congratulations Emma. If you excuse me.” Ruby said, standing up from her chair and heading to the bathroom.

Actually, I need to get going as well. I have to finish up a few things. Thank you so much for the support guys!” Emma gushed, standing up and leaving the dining hall.

When Emma left, Ruby came back from the bathroom, sitting back in her original spot, while August looked at Regina.

“What the Hell was that?” August asked.

“What?” Regina asked defensively.

“Ruby and I can see being supportive of this, but you Regina, you usually have a lecture or have at least something to say.” August said, noticing Ruby was refusing to look at either one of them.  
“She is not going to move.” Regina said plainly.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh please! They are not a good match, and she wasn’t excited to tell us she was moving, she was nervous, which means she is not excited to move. She doesn’t want to move, she will figure it out.” Regina said, before taking a sip of her cinder.

“Yeah, why would we allow her to actually move in with him.” Ruby said quietly, but August caught it.

“What do you mean?” August asked.

“Just that, Emma can do a lot better.” Regina said, kicking Ruby under the table causing her to jump slightly.

After leaving the dining hall, Emma texted Neal to meet her outside, because she needed to talk about something important. He agreed to meet up. When she reached his dorm he was already outside, standing in a winter jacket.

“Hey, do you mind if we go for a walk?” Emma asked when she reached him.

“Yeah, but only if it's a quick one, it's freezing out here!” Neal complained.

“Yeah, of course.” Emma said, noticing it was a little cold out.

A couple of minutes into the walk, Emma took a deep breath in. “Neal, I want to talk with you about something.”

“What's up?” He asked, shoving his hands deeper in his pockets.

“Neal, I know we agreed that we would move in together in about a month, but I just found out a lot of my credits won’t transfer over, so I think it would be best if you move down there first and I will follow you a couple of months later.” Emma rushed out, looking down at the ground, hoping that he would agree with her plan.

“Wait, what?” Neal asked. “You’re not coming with me?”

“Not until the summer, but I will be right behind you. I can help you move down there over Christmas break and go down and see you during spring break. I will be seeing you every few weeks. It's only a couple of months and I will be down there before you know it.” Emma said, trying to encourage the idea.

“Emma, we agreed we would move together!” Near practically yelled, causing Emma to stop walking in surprise. Neal had never raised his voice at her before, and she didn’t like it.

“No, I know, but I really want to finish school on time, but if I transfer I won’t be able to.” Emma said, hoping he would understand.

“So you want me to move down first and be down there, alone.” Neal said sternly.

“Only for a small little while!” Emma said, getting slightly frustrated.

“No.” He said simply.

“What?” She asked, her eyes widened with the fear of where this conversation was going.

“You can either move with me in a month or not at all!” Neal yelled.

“What? Why is that the only option? Why can't we live apart for only a couple of months. This is important to me, this is my career, my life!” Emma yelled back.

“Can you imagine the strain this will have on our relationship!” Neal continued to yell. “Do you know how selfish you are being right now!”

“Selfish! Are you kidding me! Selfish would be not moving down there at all. I am uprooting my life for you!” Emma yelled back, standing her ground.

Looking up at the sky, he took a deep breath. “Okay, let's say I agree to you moving down there when you graduate, I don’t think we should be together while we are apart.”

“What?” Emma was beyond confused.

“If you want to move down there in the summer, I am sorry, but for those few months we are apart, we will be broken up. So that leaves us with breaking up now, or breaking up when I leave.” Neal said sternly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Emma felt like she was seeing Neal for the first time. She realized this was not what she wanted. “Now.” She said calmly.

“What?” Neal asked, releasing his arms, starting at her with a blank expression on his face.

“I said ‘now’. We can break up now. Goodbye, Neal.” Emma said, turning to walk away from him.

“Wait shouldn’t we talk about this?” Neal asked, walking after her, realizing she wasn’t bluffing.

“There’s nothing left to say.”


	11. Chapter 11

Emma was lying in her bed, crying into her pillow. She kept replaying what happened just an hour before in her head. Neal and her have officially broken up and she felt like her entire world was slowly being destroyed. While crying into her pillow, Emma felt her heart aching and she felt sick to her stomach. Soon she heard a knock on her door. She got up from her bed and went to answer it. 

When her door opened she was met with the smiling faces of August, Ruby and Regina. “Hey we saw that you light was on so we figured…” Ruby trailed off, seeing Emma’s face. Her eyes were red and puffy, and so was her nose. Her face was paler than they have ever seen it before. She was dressed in her sweatpants and oversized shirt, that had stains on it. Her hair was up in a messy bun that was falling out. 

“Emma, you look awful!” Regina said, stepping forward placing her hands on Emma’s shoulders. 

“Thank you.” Emma mumbled, looking down at the ground sniffing. 

“Are you okay? What happened?” August asked, entering the room, followed by Ruby. When they all entered the room, they shut the door behind them. 

“Neal and I broke up.” Emma whispered, tears streaming down her face again. 

“Oh Emma! I am so sorry!” August said, giving her a hug, which she softly accepted. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Ruby asked, guiding Emma back to her bed.

“I..I ..I just feel so stupid!” Emma said, leaning her head down on Ruby’s lap, crying harder.

“Oh Emma! You are not stupid!” Regina said, rubbing Emma’s arm. 

“Tell us what happened.” August said, sitting on her desk chair, moving it to be in front of them. 

“Well, I never told Neal I thought it was a good idea for me to wait till I graduate to move down to Tallahassee. I went to tell him tonight and he didn’t take it very well. He started to say it was selfish of me to wait. He..he..” Emma began to hiccup from crying so hard.   
“Emma, Sweetie, please breath.” August said.

They all waited patiently for Emma to catch her breath. Finally she took a couple of deep breaths before she continued. 

“He is still going to move down there in a month. He told me if I am going to wait till I graduate that he doesn’t want to be together when he is down there and I am up here. He told me that it leaves us with two choices, to break up when he leaves or to break up now. I told him now.” Emma cried, accepting the tissue Regina was trying to give her. “I mean, what's the point of breaking up later and moving down there, when there is no guarantee of a relationship waiting for me.” 

“He really only gave you those two options. What an ass!” Regina said sternly, receiving a glare from both August and Ruby. “What? He is!” 

“Regina!” August scolded.

“No, she is right.” Emma said, sitting up, wiping her face. “He is an ass. Everything is either his way or the highway. Someone should tell him the world doesn’t revolve around him.” Emma was getting angry now. She thought of all the stupid things he did while they were together. 

“Well I am glad to see that you are feeling more than sad right now.” August joked slightly. 

“Emma, you deserve so much better than him. After everything he has done.” Ruby said, placing her head on her shoulder. 

“What do you mean after everything he has done?” Emma asked, moving her shoulder to Ruby would look at her. 

“Ruby..” Regina whispered, shaking her head slightly. 

“Regina, we need to tell her.” Ruby argued. 

“Tell me what?” Emma asked, standing up to look at all three of them. 

“Regina has told me a couple of things that I think you should know about Neal.” Ruby said, seeing Regina visibly stiffen. 

“Okay, Regina.” Emma said, gesturing for Regina to tell her what she knew. 

“Well, remember the night we decided to have the steak out?” Regina asked, hoping Emma won’t get definive again. 

“Yes, we found Neal and Graham smoking and selling together.” Emma whispered, looking down at the ground, remembering that night in full detail. “Then you spent the night here.” 

“Right, well when I woke up, you were still sleeping, and I felt bad. I felt like Neal was going to hurt you and so I thought I would confront him about everything. So I got dressed quickly and I went looking for him. When I found him he got very defensive and he started telling me to mind my own business. Emma you know that he was doing drugs and selling. No matter why, it doesn’t make it right. Things got out of hand pretty quickly and…” Regina trailed off, unable to tell Emma what happened. 

“You weren’t robbed were you? Neal did that to you didn’t he.” Emma breathed. Suddenly everything seemed to click. Neal was selling and doing drugs because he wanted to. He beat up Regina without a second thought. Emma felt like she couldn’t breath and the lump in her throat was getting higher and higher. Emma turned and ran to her bathroom, emptying her stomach in the toilet. 

“Emma! Oh gosh Emma! Are you okay?” August asked, rushing to her side, followed by the other two. 

“Yes, I am sorry. I think everything is just becoming overwhelming.” Emma confessed, leaning her head against the wall. 

“I’m sorry Emma, maybe I should have waited.” Regina said, feeling ashamed. 

“No, I am very grateful you told me. I needed to know. I am the one who should be apologizing. You guys tried to tell me that Neal was no good for me and I didn’t listen. You guys are truly my best friends.” Emma said, getting teary eyed again. 

“We love you Emma.” Ruby said, helping Emma stand up. “Is there anything we can do for you?’ 

“Just be here.”   
“Of Course we will be.” August said. 

A few hours later, Emma was falling asleep on Regina’s lap, as they all watched their favorite tv show, hoping to leave all of their worries behind. When Emma could feel herself drifting off, she heard her phone ringing, and recognized the ringtone immediately.

“Oh God!.” Emma groaned, moving off of Regina’s lap. 

“Who is it?” August asked.

“My mother.” Emma said, making her way over to her phone, and taking a breath before answering. “Hey Mom!” 

“Emma! Hey, I wanted to finish our conversation from the other night, about you and Neal moving in together.” Emma cringed at hearing Neal’s name. Her mother chipper voice rang through her phone, clearly having thought everything over and had decided that this was going to be a good idea. 

“Yeah, about that Mom.” Emma started sitting on her bed, knowing her friends were listening even though they were acting like they were watching the tv show. 

“Emma? Is everything okay?” Mary Margret could tell something was wrong by the tone of Emma's voice. It was rougher than usual, and it sounded like she had been crying. 

“Well, I am not moving anymore. Neal and I decided to break up instead.” Emma said, her voice quivering slightly.

“Oh Emma! What happened?” 

“Well, I told him I wanted to wait till I graduated, then meet him down there and he didn’t seem to like that answer.” Emma said, trying to keep her emotions in check, and not start crying again. 

“Oh Emma! I am so sorry sweetie. Did you want to come home this weekend? You know we will always welcome you here. We can go somewhere together to get your mind off of him!” Mary Maragret began to ramble on about all the things they could do. 

“Mom, I would love to do that, but I think I am going to stay here. I have August, Regina, and Ruby here with me.” Emma tried to convince her mom that she was okay, or at the very least she was going to be okay. 

“Well, I am glad that you have your friends with you. But you ever change your mind then you know where to find us.” Mary Margrest said, hoping to bring some comfort to Emma. 

“I sure do.” Emma laughed slightly. 

“But honestly, how are you doing?” 

“Not the best. I have been learning things about him that are not great. I guess you can say that I am seeing the real him now. I was told something a couple of hours ago that made me physically sick.” Emma confessed, grimacing at the thought of getting sick. 

“Emma! Oh my gosh. You’re not...pregnant are you.” Her mother questioned, her tone laced with worry. 

Emma felt her entire body go cold. She tried to remember the last time she had her period. Running over to her calendar she saw it was not even three weeks ago. Sighing, she spoke to her mother again. “No, that would be impossible. I had my period not even 3 weeks ago.” 

“Okay, well thank our lucky stars for that.” 

After a few more minutes on the phone with her mother, Emma hung up her phone and looked over at her friends, their faces plastered in confusion. 

“What?” Emma asked.

“Did..did your mother ask if you were pregnant?” Regina asked, with a horrified look on her face. 

“Yes, she was just making sure.” 

“And you are 100% sure you are not.” Ruby pressed. 

Emma opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it, not wanting to lie.  
“I don’t know.” Emma confessed.


	12. Chapter 12

Emma sat on her bathroom floor, curled up in a ball, her back against the door. She waited anxiously for the alarm on her phone to go off. She only had about two minutes until she found out, if she was going to be a mom or not. She didn’t dare to move. She thought about the last few months she had with Neal. She thought about every time they were together. They were careful, weren't they?

Beep beep. The alarm on her phone went off, pulling Emma from her thoughts. Emma slowly got up from her spot and made her way over to her phone, turning the alarm off. Taking a few breaths, Emma took the pregnancy test in her shaky hands, unable to look at the results. Building up her courage she looked down and saw it.

She saw a tiny plus sign staring up at her. Emma felt every emotion at once. Still staring at the test, hoping at any moment the plus would turn into a negative, she walked out of her bathroom into her bedroom. Her legs were so shaky she was unable to stand anymore, so she sat down on her bed, finally looking up, realizing she was alone. She remembers she sent her friends away, not wanting them to know she was taking a pregnancy test. She wished someone was there with her now. She didn’t care who.

Not knowing what else to do, Emma placed the test on her night stand and crawled under her blankets. Once she was all bundled up in her blankets she let the tears fall. She had no idea what to do. She knew she needed to tell Neal, but emotionally she couldn’t face him. Her parents would be so disappointed in her. She remembers the relief in her mother's voice when she told her she was not pregnant a week ago. At least she would have her friends, wouldn’t she.

Emma had no idea when she fell asleep, but she woke up to the sun beaming in her room. Everything felt normal, Emma thought for a moment that today was going to be a normal day, till she got out of bed and looked over and saw the test sitting on her night stand. Emma looked at her phone and saw she had an hour before class, and her phone had 12 missed messages from her friends. Sighing, She got up to shower.

Thirty minutes later Emma was showered and dressed. Normally she would skip breakfast, but she began wondering if she should eat something. She wasn’t hungry, but she began to wonder if she should eat because of her situation. Emma wouldn’t let herself think of the word. She grabbed a granola bar and made her way out the door.

Emma made it through her day of classes and now felt extremely tired, wanting nothing more than you lay down in bed, but her stomach had other plans. As soon as she walked through the door and dropped her bag, she felt an intense hunger running through her.

Emma finally decided she would get food, then sleep, when her phone went off. Taking her phone out of her pocket, she noticed it was the group message she was in.

Regina: Emma?!?! You haven't answered us all day! Are you okay? Are you alive? You have to talk to us at some point.

August: Regina! She is going through a hard time. She may have shut her phone off. Let her move on in her own time.

Sighing, Emma knew that Regina was right, she shouldn’t be shutting out her friends, especially now.

Emma: Yes, I am very much alive. Sorry, I just got home from class. I was thinking of getting dinner. I am STARVING. Do you guys want to come with me?

Regina: Hey! Look who is alive! I am down for food.

Ruby:Emma! We have missed you! Yes dinner sound wonderful.

August: When shall we meet?

Emma: Let's meet now.

Emma quickly grabbed her jacket and headed out the door, without waiting for her friends to respond. When she made her way downstairs, she saw her friends were making their way out of their dorms. She felt tears starting to form in her eyes, she quickly scolded herself for being emotional.

“Emma!” Ruby squealed, as she ran to Emma, pulling her in for a hug.

“Nice to see you too Ruby, but it's only been a couple of days.” Emma said, releasing Ruby, only to be pulled into another hug from August.

“We know, but we also know that this has been hard on you. When you said you wanted some space we got worried you were pushing us away.” August answered, holding her tightly for a moment.

Emma cringed remembering when she asked them to leave one night. When they left, she ran out and bought a pregnancy test, hoping to take it that night. She cursed herself for being a coward and not being able to take it. After two days she was able to work up the courage to take it. The proof was still sitting on her night stand.

“I’m sorry guys. I know it’s not fair to you, that I just vanished for a couple of days, I just needed time, but I will always need you guys.” Emma said, meaning every word.

“Well it’s good to have you back, shall we go to dinner?” Regina asked, smiling and grabbing Emma’s hand, her own form of comfort.

“Yes! I am starving.” Emma announced smiling at the comfort she was receiving from her friends.

When they all were sitting down with plates of food in front of them, Emma felt her phone vibrate, confused on whom it was Emma pulled her phone out. She felt her stomach drop as she read the name that came across her phone.

Neal

“Everything all right?” August asked, noticing Emma’s face went pale.

“I... I don’t know. N… Neal messaged me.” Emma stuttered out, unable to keep her voice even.

“Want me to text him for you?” Regina asked, sticking her hand out, ready to take Emma’s phone.

“No, It’s okay. Just one moment.” Emma felt better, knowing her friends were there for her. Clicking on the message, Emma’s heart began to race.

Neal: Emma, I am sorry for how we ended things, and if you will, can we please talk. I saw you in the Dining hall. I am outside.

Emma reread the message a few times before taking in a shaking breath.

“I will be right back you guys.” Emma announced getting up from her chair.

“Want me to come with you?” Regina asked, also standing up from her chair, ready to stand behind Emma no matter what.

“No, it's okay. This shouldn’t take too long.” Emma turned and headed for the door.

When Emma made it outside, she saw Neal standing with his back to the Dining Hall. Smoke was coming from him, Emma figured he was smoking a cigarette.

“Neal?” Emma said, her voice was quiet, but he turned around and smiled.

“Emma! Thank you for coming out. I think we should talk about this. Listen, we can wait to move. I will wait till you graduate! I will find a job up here and see if the job down there will extend their offer.” Neal started rambling off his ideas on how they could work things out. When he finally took a breath it was Emma’s turn to talk.

“Neal, listen. I don’t think it will matter if we fixed things right now, because we are just going to end up right back here.” Emma confessed.

“What? Emma no, I promise we won’t! I realized I was an idiot, I realized that I don’t want to lose you.” Neal said in a softer tone, taking a step towards her.

“Did you realize this before or after you hurt Regina.” Emma said defensively.

Neal’s face fell almost immediately. “She, she told you.”

“Yes, she told me. I also know that you lied about selling drugs. You have been doing it the entire time we have been together. You are also doing them!” Emma started to yell.

“Emma, I … I uh… I don’t know what you want me to say.” Neal stuttered, running his fingers through his hair.

“I want you to stop lying to me! I don’t trust you anymore! Neal, what would happen if I did move down there with you and you continued to lie to me.” Emma remembered her situation she was in and wanted to know what his reaction would be. “Neal, what if you were doing this and I got pregnant. Do you understand how dangerous that would be? What if a deal went bad, and they hurt the baby. What if…”  
“A baby? What kind of selfish person would want to bring a baby into this world.” Neal interrupted.

Emma suddenly felt like her whole world came crashing down, she felt tears running down her face. “I’m tired, Neal. I don’t want to have the same fight over and over again. I am done.”

“Well, if that is how you feel then. I … I guess I wish you the best.” Neal said, turning around and walking away.

Emma watched him walk away, unsure of how to feel. When she could no longer see him, she took a couple of deep breaths, feeling a burning sensation in the pit of her stomach, and turned around, ready to head back to the dinning hall. As soon as she did, she saw Regina standing at the door, her face full of wonder.

“Regina! How long have you been standing there?” Emma asked.

“Around the time you mentioned me. Against August’s suggestion of keeping my nose out of this, I wanted to make sure that you were going to be okay. I had a feeling that things were going to get heated between the two of you.” Regina said, her voice sounded almost cautions.

“Oh, well thank you!” Emma said, trying to make her way through the door, before Regina stopped her.

“Emma, wait.” Regina protested. “I know you were unsure, but from what I heard with you talking with Neal… Emma are you… Are you pregnant?” Regina asked, holding Emma’s face in her hands.

Suddenly Emma’s breathing started to become more rapid, to the point of hyperventilating. “I… I…yes.” Emma confessed. She placed her head on Regina’s shoulder and began to cry. She felt Regina’s arms wrap around her, hoping to comfort her.

“When did you find out?” Regina asked, pulling away slightly, but keeping her arms around Emma.

“Last night. I haven't gone to the doctor or anything, but I have all the signs, including a positive pregnancy test that is sitting on my nightstand.” Emma said, feeling better, being able to tell someone.

“Oh Emma, I know this is not the most ideal situation, but I promise you it’s going to be okay. No matter what you decide, you are going to have all of us here for you. I promise you that.”

Emma nodded as a response, sniffling slightly. After a moment, they heard a low growling noise coming from Emma’s stomach.

Both of them giggled slightly. “Come on, lets go feed that little one in there.” Regina said smiling, followed by Emma.

“I should tell the rest of them.” Emma said, nodding towards the table, where Ruby and August sat waiting for them to return.

“When you are ready.” Regina reminded her.

“Okay, I think I am ready to tell them. I am going to need a lot of support though.” Emma said.

“And you shall receive it.” Regina said, moving part of Emma’s bangs away from her face.

Emma took a deep breath in and headed for the table, remembering how hungry she was when she saw her plate of food still sitting there.

“There you are, we thought we were going to have to call the cops because Regina had killed Neal and you two were hiding the body.” Ruby joked.

“He is not so lucky.” Regina joked back, sitting back down in her chair, before looking at Emma who smiled slightly.

“Really though, are you okay?” August asked grabbing Emma’s hand as soon as she sat down.

“Yeah, I am okay, actually I need to tell you guys something.” Emma confessed, looking down at her plate.

“Everything okay?” Ruby asked.

“I don’t know how to answer that. I guess I should start off by just pulling off the band aid.” Emma said, looking up.

“You can do it.” Regina encouraged.

“I’m pregnant.” Emma announced, her voice unwavering.

There was a few minutes of silence at their table. Emma began to wonder if it was a mistake to tell them that they were not ready to hear that.

“Oh Emma!” Ruby got up from her seat and hugged Emma, crying on her. “I am so sorry.” Was all she could get out.

“Nothing to be sorry about. I knew this could happen and it did. I brought this upon myself.” Emma said, rubbing Ruby’s back.

“What are you going to do? Are you thinking of adoption, keeping it? Raising it? Getting rid…?” August began to ask.

“I don’t know, but I do know that I can’t get rid of it. There is a reason for everyone to be here and I don’t want to take away a life that could have been,” Emma said, interrupting August’s last question.

“Well, I guess we can say Congratulations.” August announced.

“Yes, Congratulations Emma. “ Regina said, smiling.

“Congratulations.” Ruby mumbled into her lap.

Emma felt her phone vibrate again, and realized she was going to have to tell her family and eventually Neal. She didn’t know how he would handle it, or even acknowledge this. She felt panic begin to rise as she thought of his reaction, or her parents. She began to think of better jobs to get, but she knew she was going to at least finish school.


	13. Chapter 13

Emma grabbed her back pack and placed it on her bed, emptying her binders. Finals were finally done, and she needed to pack for Christmas break. Going over to her dresser she picked out a few outfits. She knew when she got home her mother was going to want to go shopping, so there was no need to pack entire month's worth of clothes.

Once Emma packed her backpack with a good amount of clothes, and her everyday needs, Emma left her dorm and headed outside. She had already pulled her car outside, towards the front of her building. When she reached her car and unlocked it, she heard a couple of guys speaking loudly, causing her to look up, distracting her. When she looked up she saw a couple of guys carrying a few bags and gaming equipment, all laughing. She felt her whole body hurt when she saw Neal walking with them, carrying only his backpack. He looked over and saw her, waving slightly.

Emma got in her car and started to drive away, without looking back over to him, but felt his eyes on her. When she knew he couldn’t see her anymore, Emma placed a hand on her stomach rubbing it softly. She was still pretty small, but was noticing small changes, unable to wear skinny jeans now. She still hasn’t told Neal or her parents about the baby. She was going to tell her parents over the break. She was debating on when to tell Neal. Shaking her head and refusing to think about him any more she continued to drive down the road to the local diner, to see her friends.

When she parked her car and got out, she suddenly felt arms wrapped around her top half with an excited Ruby calling her name.

“Hi Ruby.” Emma said happily.

“Emma! Oh, gosh I am so excited to not have class for a few weeks! How did your finals go?” Ruby asked, finally letting go of her.

“I think they went well.” Emma stated, seeing Regina and August walking towards them, both smiling.

“Hey guys, excited for Christmas?” Emma said, half joking.

“So excited.” Regina said, rolling her eyes, as they made their way into the restaurant.

“Regina, why do you hate Christmas so much?” August asked, once they were inside.

“Well, I don’t hate Christmas. For one, I don’t like how cheery everything is, it's unrealistic. Also, the idea of Santa, come on that guy is a creep. He watches you and breaks into your house. Also, with the snow, everything is so bright!” Regina exclaimed, while they waited to be seated.

“Wow, tell us how you really feel.” Emma said, smiling.

“You are the one who asked.” Regina stated, but couldn't help but smile along with her.

Once they were all seated and had their food, they were all talking about their winter plans.

“I, for one, am excited for this break. Besides the fact of no longer having to deal with the drama of school, I will be staying in a nice warm ski lodge, while skiing almost every day.” Regina exclaimed, her face lit up with excitement. Skiing was one of the few things Regina fully enjoyed.

“Well you can keep your cold days, I however will be going to Florida, spending my days on the beach. Maybe see a cute guy or two.” Ruby said, smiling at the thought.

“Yeah, maybe you will drown in the ocean.” Regina joked.

“All to be saved by a hot lifeguard. I think I would be okay with that.” Ruby laughed.

“Well while you guys are freezing to death and drowning, I will be doing a 6-week internship at my hometown library.” August said proudly.

“Nerd!” Ruby said, sticking her tongue out.

“What about you Emma?” August asked. None of them asked the real question they wanted to. Are you going to tell your parents about the baby?

Emma swallowed the food in her mouth and began to speak. “Well, I am going home. Probably going to stay at home for a bit, but on Christmas we might go to my grandparents, but who knows.”

“Anything else?” Regina pushed.

“My mom will probably take me to the mall and buy me a whole new wardrobe.” Emma smiled.

“In what section.” Regina muttered, but Emma caught it.

“Regina!” August scolded.

“What? I’m sorry, I'm not good at beating around the bush. Emma, are you going to tell your parents?” Regina asked, a bit harshly.

“About the baby? Yes. I keep coming up with ideas to tell them, but none of them seem right. None of this seems right. I feel like I should be married and telling them thias, or at least with the father. I would even settle for being older. I am scared I might disappoint them.” Emma rambled out, her lower lip began to tremble, but she refused to cry.

“Emma, I think you should see a doctor, you know, to make sure everything is okay.” Regina asked.

“Yeah, I made an appointment tomorrow, mid-afternoon. I am going to tell my parents either today or tomorrow before the appointment. I am not sure I can go there alone” Emma said.

“Emma, if you want, I can change my plans and be there with you tomorrow.” Ruby offered.

“No, really it's okay. I need to do this. I will call and tell you guys everything, I promise.” Emma stated.

When they had finished eating they all gave each other hugs and wished each other Happy holiday and safe travels, they all got in their cars and drove away. Emma decided to stop by her job and pick up her paycheck. Pulling into the lot she noticed another car. It looked like her favorite coworker's car, Killian. He had moved from Scotland when he was in high school and decided to stay in the United States to finish his schooling. Emma and him met when she first started working as one of the bookkeepers for the financial aid office about 2 years ago. Killian was her trainer, they hit it off immediately. He was one of the reasons she loved working here.

Entering the building she went straight to the office, looking for the box of paychecks. “Guess I’m not the only one who needed the extra money.” Emma jumped hearing a deep voice with a thick Scottish accent. Looking over she notices Killian leaning against the door frame.

“I thought that was your car in the parking lot. Can’t get away from here?” Emma asked, leaning on a nearby table with her hip, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Well you know me, a workaholic with no friends.” Killian jokes.

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Emma joked, her face painted in a fake shocked expression.

“You are the only exception.” Killian said causing a giddy feeling flutter through Emma. Pushing it aside, knowing they are just friends.

“Well, I am just cooler than everyone else, and I don’t fall for your tricks.” Emma laughed.

“My tricks?” He asked, stepping into the room.

“Oh come on! You must know that girls are falling in line, just to hear you talk to them.”

Looking around the room, Killian stood in front of Emma. “Well I don’t see any girls here.”

“Just call me one of the boys.” Emma joked, pushing him slightly, laughing off the fact that his aftershave was making her nauseous. She found the box that the checks are held in and pulled out her check.

“Well, I would love to stay and chat but I have a two-hour drive ahead of me.” Emma said, turning around, facing Killian again.

“Well, happy holidays, and drive safely.” Killian said stepping aside. “Doing anything fun?”

“Not really, just going home to see my parents. What about you?” Emma asked.

“I’m actually going to stay here and work online until the school year starts up again.”  
“You are not going home for the holidays?”

“Not this year. My parents and I don’t have enough money for a round trip, but I will see them in a few months, not a big deal.” Killian said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Well, if you don’t want to spend Christmas alone feel free to drive down to my parents house and at the very least have dinner with us. No one should spend Christmas alone.” Emma offered.

“Well, I will think about it. Thank you, Emma.” he said, his eyes lingering on Emma for a moment.

“It’s really not a problem, but I really do have to go. Please text me if you are coming and I will send you my address. Bye Killian!” Emma said as she left the office. She could hear him say “bye” as she turned the corner heading for the front door.

After about two hours of driving, Emma finally pulled into her parents' driveway, the sense of home began to consume her. She loved coming home to her parents. She was the most comfortable here.

Before she could even get out of her car, she saw the front door swing open and her mother came rushing out with a big smile on her face, her arms already spread open. Smiling Emma got out of her car and was instantly wrapped in her mother's embrace.

“Oh Emma! I am so glad you are home!” Her mother says, swaying her from side to side briefly.

“Hi mom. I need to breathe.” Emma joked, but was relieved when her mother let go. Looking over she says her dad is standing at the doorstep smiling at her. “Hi dad!”

“Hi Honey! Come on in, you two are going to catch your death out here, it’s so cold.” He said, gesturing inside. Emma grabbed her backpack from her car and made her way inside, her mother on her heels the entire time.

Later that night, Emma had taken a bath and was in her comfy pajamas, getting ready for bed when her mother knocked on her door.

“Hey Sweetie, I just wanted to come in and say good night.”

“Actually mom, do you mind getting Dad? I have something I need to tell you both.” Emma said, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Oh sweetie, your dad already went to bed, is there something that only I can help you with?” her mother asked, walking into her room.

“No, it's okay, it's not super important, it can wait for another day or so.” Emma said, slightly relieved she didn’t have to make her announcement yet.

“Speaking of, I am taking you to the mall tomorrow! I think we should get matching Pj’s for Christmas morning!” Her mother squealed, clearly excited about her idea.

“Yeah, sure mom, whatever you want, but I have a doctor's appointment in the morning, so can it wait till the afternoon?”

“Sure, but why do you have a doctor's appointment? Are you sick?” Her mother asked, walking over to sit on her bed.

“No, I’m fine. Just getting a check up done, the school is requiring one more.” Emma impressed herself with how fast she came up with the lie.

“Oh, okay. As long as you are alright.” Her mother said, patting Emma’s knee, for leaning over and kissing her forehead. “Now get some sleep. I will see you in the morning, I love you.”

“Love you too.” Emma said, as her mother left her room, feeling a sense of being alone. She knew she was going to have to tell her parents tomorrow, she couldn’t keep lying to them.


	14. Chapter 14

Emma woke up in the morning feeling nauseous. Hoping the feeling would pass, Emma kept her eyes tightly shut. The feeling subsided slightly and Emma decided she could open her eyes. The moment she did, the feeling returned, only worse, Emma quickly jumped out of bed and ran out of her room and down the hall to the bathroom. When she was done she quickly brushed her teeth and looked in the mirror. Taking in a shaky breath, Emma opened the bathroom door to find her mother standing on the other side of it.

“Mom!” Emma said surprised. “You startled me.” Emma breath, placing her hand on her chest, hoping her heart rate would slow down soon.

“I’m sorry sweetie, I didn’t mean to scare you. I heard you getting sick in there, and I know that you are an adult now and I didn’t know how you felt about your mother coming in and helping you through it.” Her mother said, looking at Emma with worry. “Emma are you okay? You never get sick.”

“Um yeah. I'm… I'm okay.” Emma stumbled, trying to move past her mother.

“Emma, wait, what’s going on?” Mary Margret called after her, as Emma was making her way back to her bedroom.

“I don’t really wanna talk about this right now.” Emma said, as she made it to her bedroom door.

“Hey, what's going on?” Emma heard her father's deep groggy voice call from the other end of the hallway. Turning around she saw her father making his way toward them, in his pajama bottoms and a shirt that Emma had given him when she was a little girl.

“I... I…” Emma lost her voice and her vision soon became cloudy with tears. Closing her eyes, she felt the tears rush down her face.

“Oh Emma! Sweetie, what is the matter?” her mother asked, wiping the tears off of her cheeks.

“I'm ... I'm pregnant.” Emma cried out.

“You’re..you’re what?” Emma looked at the shock painted on her mother’s face and her heart broke.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Emma cried, placing her head on her mother’s shoulder. She felt her mother, wrap her arms around her, and hold her. Emma let all of her tears she had been holding in, come out. She felt that her father’s hand on the back of her head, and he pulled both of them in for a hug.

After a few moments, Emma felt her parents pull away slightly. Emma wiped her remaining tears away and looked at both of her parents, feeling ashamed. Her mother was the first one to break the silence. “Emma, please tell us what happened.”

Shaking her head in agreement, they made their way over to the family room, and they all sat down. Emma sat down in her father's big chair, and felt like a little kid again. When she was little, whenever she was able to sit in her father’s chair was when something really special was happening. If it was her birthday she would be able to sit in it.

She remembers one time she woke up to a thunderstorm and her parents were sitting in the family room. She ran out to the middle of the room, scared because of the storm. Her father picked her up and together they sat in the chair, rocking slightly, hearing one of her dad’s stories about when he was a kid and the many adventures he would go on. She fell asleep in his arms that night.

Now, sitting in the chair, she felt unworthy. That she had done something wrong and shouldn’t be able to sit there.

Emma took a couple of deep breaths before finally speaking. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for this to happen.” she began

“Emma, please, you need to stop apologizing. This isn’t some terrible thing. True you are a little young and still in college, but so what?” Her mother said.

“This isn’t how I pictured my life going.” Emma confessed, looking down at her hands, picking at a hangnail.

“Well how did you picture your life going, before all of this happened?” She heard her father ask.

“Well… I was planning on finishing college, and getting a job as a detective, and at some point meet a nice guy, get married and have a family. I wanted the fairy tale that you guys are. Now I am single, halfway through my senior year of college and pregnant.” Emma said, looking back up at her parents.

“Emma, your father and I are no fairy tale.” Her mother confessed.

“Of course you are! You two were made for each other. You did what most people want to do. You are living the dream that I want.” Emma argued.

“Emma, sweetie, you may think that your parents are perfect, or close to it and I guess many kids who grew up the way you did would as well. Emma, when your father and I met, we both were in high school, and we knew from the moment that we met that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together.” Her mother started.

“Growing up Catholic I was sat down as a boy and was given the talk and was told to wait till marriage. I agreed but when I met your mother, we didn’t want to.” Her father finished.

“Emma sweetie, when we got married, I was 4 months pregnant with you.” her mother confessed.

“You were?” Emma asked, slightly shocked.

“Yes, why do you think we don’t see your grandparents on your father’s side much? Honey when they found out they wanted nothing to do with me, and practically disowned your father, but when you were born they came back around.” Her mother said smiling.

“And we wouldn’t change anything.” Her father finished.

“Really? You don’t wish I came a bit later?” She asked.

“Nope, you came at just the right time.” Her mother gushed.

“But what about me and my plan. Neal and I are not talking, and I still need to finish school. I still don’t have a place of my own. I don’t have anything, I am not ready at all for this.” Emma breathed out. “I’m scared.”

“Emma, of course you are scared, parenthood is a scary thing, but just know that you are not alone. You have your father and I, and your friends, do your friends know? I’m pretty sure your friend Ruby would babysit for you just about every day.” her mother joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Emma chuckled slightly. “Yeah, they know, and Regina would to, believe it or not.”

“Regina? Really?”

“Yeah, she is a sucker for babies. She comes undone the second a baby enters the coffee shop.” Emma laughed, remembering a time a couple of years ago, when a toddler crawled over to their group and pulled on Regina’s pant leg. They all held their breath wondering what her reaction would be. None of them expected her to gasp and pick up the little boy and begin playing with him, with the biggest smile, any of them have seen on her face.

“Emma.” Her father’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “You mentioned that you and Neal are no longer talking, but does he know?”

Emma shook her head. “No, I haven’t told him yet. I think I am going to wait a bit. I have a doctor’s appointment today just to see where I am at and where the baby is at.” Emma said, placing her hand on her stomach, a strange warm feeling filling her.

“Oh Emma, I know this is all unexpected and early, but please tell me you are happy.” Her mother said, unable to hide her own excitement.

“I guess I am still processing it. I was focused on Neal and then having to tell people that I just haven’t let it all sink in.” Emma said.

“Well, it’s a good thing that we are going to the mall today, we are going to have to buy you some maternity clothes” Her mother joked. “Oh! We now have a baby to shop for!” Her mother squealed.

“Okay, but before we do any of that, let me get ready for my appointment.” Emma said standing up from the chair. Before she left the family room Emma noticed a pleading look on her mother’s face. “You can come to my appointment if you want.”

“Oh, really!” Her mother cried.

“Yes, I won’t deny being able to see your grandchild for the first time.” she said, feeling a bit odd.

“Oh Emma! Our first grand baby!” Her mother gushed, pulling her in for a hug and then looking over at her father.

Her dad stood up and hugged Emma. “Congratulations kiddo.”

“Did you want to come to the appointment with mom and I?” Emma asked, feeling like it was going to be a bit awkward with her dad there.

“I think I am going to sit this one out, but if you get pictures, I want to see them.” Her father smiled.

A couple of hours later Emma and Mary Margret were sitting in the doctor's office. Emma was sitting on the exam table, while her mother sat across the room in one of the chairs, both lost in their own thoughts to speak. Soon they heard a knock on the door and the doctor came in.

“Good Morning, how is everyone today?” the doctor asked.

“Good, a bit nervous, if I’m being honest.” Emma confessed.

“Well there is nothing to be nervous about. I am Doctor Darling, and you must be Emma.” Doctor Darling said, reaching her hand out to shake hands with Emma.

“Yep, that would be me.”

“Alright, well tell me what's been going on.”

“Well, about a month ago I took a pregnancy test and it was positive, so I guess I am here to make sure everything is looking alright.” Emma said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Alright, that is not a problem, can I ask why you waited a month to see a doctor.” Doctor Darling asked.

“Well, the father and I broke up right before I found out and when my period was a couple days late, so I took a test and found out. It’s taken me awhile to process everything, and I knew I was coming home for the holiday’s so might as well make an appointment for when I come home.” Emma said.

“Alright, that shouldn’t be a problem, let me just ask you a couple of questions. When was your last period?”

“Today is December 21st, so November 5th was the last day of my period.” Emma claimed.

“Alright, so that should put you at about roughly 6 weeks along.” She said smiling.

Emma couldn’t help but smile when she heard her mom squeal quietly.

“Emma, in the past six weeks, have you drank any alcohol, or have done any drugs or smoke any cigarettes?”

“Nope, none of that, never really saw the appeal of it.” Emma said proudly. Even though she had no idea what she was doing, she felt like she was doing something right.

“Alright and what about coffee? Been drinking any coffee?”

“I have. I have been drinking a cup a day.” Emma said, the feeling of being proud slowly washing away.

“Okay, so drinking coffee isn’t a bad thing, just minimize it to 8 ounces of coffee a day or none at all. I also don’t want you to eat any fish, be careful when eating meat, make sure it’s cooked all the way through. Make sure all your fruits and vegetables are washed before eating them. I don’t want you to eat unpasteurized milk, cheese or fruit…” The doctor continued to list off the dos and don’t of what she can and can’t eat. Emma began to panic slightly and began thinking that she can’t do this. “And don't worry, you are going to be leaving with a list of everything, so you don’t have to remember it all right now.”

Emma relaxed slightly, nodding her head smiling. Her mind was still swirling about the baby and if she had done anything wrong yet. The next thing she knew, she was laying on her back, and the doctor had a machine next to her, moving something around. She couldn’t make out what was going on, all she could see was blue, black and gray colors moving around the screen. Then suddenly she saw it. Her baby. A little white speck in the middle of the screen. Emma felt tears running down her face. She tuned out the entire world and only focused on her baby. Nothing else mattered at that moment. She knew everything was going to be okay.

Emma heard her mother and the doctor talking, and soon the lights came back on and the image of her baby disappeared. Emma felt a little sad not seeing it anymore, but when she sat back up and placed her hand on her stomach and smiled.

When they got back home, Emma had about ten pamphlets in her hands as well as an envelope in her hand from her ultrasound. When she got out of the car, she got excited to show her dad the pictures. She felt proud of her little baby.

“Hey Dad! We got pictures.” Emma called when she got into her house. When she received no response she looked at her mother in confusion.

“He may have been called into work.” Her mother said softly.

“Oh, okay.” Emma said slightly saddened, but then remembered she promised a few people a phone call. “Hey mom. I have to make a phone call, so I am going to go up to my room for a little before we go to the mall, okay?”

“Yeah! Take your time!” Her mother called after her.

When Emma made it up to her room she closed her door and pulled out her phone. She opened up her messenger, entered the group chat and hit the video call. She soon saw August’s face pop up on her screen first.

“Hey Emma!” He called out.

“Hey August! I’m back from my appointment and wanted to talk with you guys.” Not a second after she said that, Ruby’s face popped up on the screen.

“Emma! August! How are you guys?” Ruby’s excited voice echoed through the phone. Emma noticed some sand behind Ruby.

“Ruby, are you already in Florida?” Emma asked.

“I sure am! I landed this morning about an hour ago. It’s so warm here, and the guys are so much hotter!” Ruby said with a smug smile.

“She hasn’t been on the phone for 10 minutes, and she is already talking about boys.” August joked.

Regina’s face suddenly appeared on the screen. “Hello guys!” She said with a smile, they were all stunned to see Regina smile that big.

“Wow Regina, for someone who hates snow, you really love Skiing.” Ruby said, laughing slightly.

“It's a love and hate relationship. It's cold and bright, but man do I love skiing!” Regina laughed.

Suddenly they heard a loud deep laugh through the phone. Regina’s face suddenly became embarrassed, but she tried to hide it. “Sorry, I'm in a lodge and it’s a bit loud in here.”

“Regina, are you there with someone?” Ruby asked, very intrigued.

“What? No… I…um… I” Regina stuttered.

“She is stuttering! Oh, my gosh! You are there with someone! Tell us who it is! Do we know him!” Ruby rushed all at once. Emma was pretty sure Ruby forgot how to breath.

“Emma, you had your appointment this morning, right? How did it go?” Regina asked, switching the subject off of her, clearly not comfortable answering Ruby’s questions.

“Nice change of direction.” Emma joked, causing Regina to glare at her. “Yes, I did have my appointment today, and I have something to show you guys.”

Emma switched her phone camera so it was no longer showing her face, instead it was showing her bedspread. She lifted one of the ultrasound pictures, and saw her friends faces all become soft.

“Oh Emma!” Regina goo'd, tears clearly forming in her eyes.

“Do you know how far along you are?” August asked, his face matching Regina’s.

“I believe my doctor said 6 weeks along.” Emma said, smiling.

“A summer baby!” Ruby cried out, her face plastered with smiles.

“I know yesterday you mentioned something about not knowing what you are going to do, what about now. Now that you have seen the baby, have you figured it out yet?” Regina asked.

“Today, was so magical.” Emma confessed, switching her camera back to her face. “I don’t think it truly sunk in that I was pregnant. I was more focused on Neal and school and worried about disappointing people. Today, when I saw it, I felt something. I don’t really know what, but I felt warm and happy and ..I don’t know how to explain it.” Emma confessed, her own eyes filling up with tears.

“Emma, what do you want?” August asked.

“I want this baby to have the best life possible, but I also don’t want to abandon it.” Emma said, placing her hand protectively on her stomach.

“Are you going to keep it?” Ruby asked.

“I don’t know yet. If I can get a better job and a place of my own before the baby gets here, then maybe, if not, I might think about an open adoption. I can’t just walk away from this.” Emma confessed.


	15. Chapter 15

Emma felt overwhelmed reading the pamphlets that the doctor had given her. When Emma and her mom had gotten home from the mall all Emma could do was lay down in her bed and sleep. When she awoke that morning, she started looking through her pamphlets. An hour later, Emma was still sitting on her bed, bags of clothes circling around her bed from the day before, and many pamphlets lay out in front of her.   
Her mind was racing of all the ways she could mess up. 

A knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts. 

“Emma?” She heard her mother call out from the other side of the door. 

“Come in.” Emma called out, her head still buried in her pamphlets. She heard her bedroom door open and when she didn’t hear anything else she looked up, to see her mother standing in her doorway. 

“Emma would you please join your father and I in the family room please.” Her mother asked. 

Nodding her head, Emma stood up and followed her mother to their family room. Once there, Emma sat down on the couch and looked at her parents. “What’s going on?” She asked when no one said anything. 

“Emma I think that we should talk about your plan.” Her mother announced. 

“My plan? You mean about the baby?” Emma asked, placing her hand protectively on her stomach.

“We are not going to push you in anyway, we want you to do what you think is best, and will support you in any decision you make.” her mother explained. 

Leaning her back against the couch, Emma sat there thinking about what she truly wanted for a moment. “I don’t want to say anything and then change my mind.” she explained. 

“Well how are you thinking now?” Her father asked. 

“I didn’t let this whole thing sink in till the other day. I was so distracted with Neal and then telling you guys and with school. I knew that I was pregnant but I think a part of me didn’t want to believe it, or acknowledge it, but when we saw it yesterday, I think everything hit me. I want what is best for the baby. I don’t know if that is with me or another family.” Emma said, her eyes filling up with tears. Emma was never one to cry, but her pregnancy has made her more emotional than usual. 

“Are you thinking of adoption?” her mother asked, visibly disappointed if that was the way they were going. 

“I don’t really know; it’s clearly an option. I would love to be able to raise this little baby but let's look at the reality of the situation. I am still in college, I don’t have a place of my own and my job doesn’t pay that much, plus if I got all of this figured out, I am still alone.” Emma confessed, hating that this was her situation. “If I was to give the baby up for adoption I think I would want an open adoption. If someone else has to raise the baby, then I would still want to be there. I don’t want the baby to think that I don’t want it.” 

“Emma, we can figure out a different job for you, and you will be out of college by the time the baby comes. As for your living situation, you and the baby are welcome to stay here as long as it takes for you to get on your feet, but I don’t want you to think that you are alone.” Mary Margrette said, standing up and sat down next to Emma. “But if you think that adoption would be the best option, then we will support you.” 

“Your mother is right though.” Her father interrupted. “You and the baby can stay here for awhile, just until you can find a better job and find a place for the both of you, and I am sure your mother will be offering to babysit when you are working.” 

“Oh you know I will!” her mother laughed,half joking, half serious. 

“I still don’t know what I want to do. I need to think about it. I will let you guys know as soon as I know.” Emma said, looking at her mom then over at her dad. 

“Then we will pick up this conversation when you figure it out, just don’t wait too long.” Her dad said. 

“I promise I won't.” 

“How about we give you and the baby a big breakfast this morning.” Her mother stated, switching the topic. 

“Sounds wonderful! I am going to shower first.” Emma announced as she stood up from the couch. 

After a 15 minute shower, Emma was dressed and could smell what her mother was cooking, coming up the stairs. Before leaving her bedroom, she heard her phone buzz. Picking up her phone she saw a name pop up on her screen that made her heart pound faster. 

Killian

Quickly, she unlocked her phone and read his message. 

Killain: Hey Emma! I know it’s only a couple of days away, but is the option of having Christmas dinner with you and your parents still available? 

Emma knew she would have to ask her parents, but was feeling a bit doubtful that they would agree to have a boy come over, especially in her state. They had nothing to worry about. Killian was a great friend. With that in mind, Emma raced to the kitchen to fill her stomach and find the courage to ask her parents. 

Once sitting down at the kitchen table, Mary Margrette placed a stack of pancakes in the center of the table, and all three of them began to dig in. After eating her first pancake, Emma decided it was now or never. 

“Hey guys, can I ask you a question?” 

“Yeah, is everything okay?” Her mother asked. 

“Yeah, everything is just fine. I was wondering if I could bring a guest over for Christmas dinner?” She asked, picking up another pancake and placing it on her plate. 

“What kind of guest?” Her father gritted through his teeth. 

“A coworker of mine. His family is not from here and he couldn’t get a plane ticket home for the holidays. He is staying on campus but I did extend an invitation to him to have dinner with us. He said no, but I got a message this morning from him asking if the invitation still stood. I was just making sure that it was okay.” 

“Emma, I don’t know if dating in your condition..” Her mother started. 

“Whoa, whoa, slow down. I never said anything about dating him, or anybody. He is a really good friend and I was just trying to make sure he wasn’t alone for the holidays.” Emma said sternly, trying her best not to raise her voice.

“Well, if that is the only reason, then I don’t see a problem with it.” Her mother said, before looking over to her father, who nodded in agreement.

“Awesome, when I am all done, I will let him know he is welcome to stay for dinner.” Emma beamed. 

After confirming with Killian that he would be joining them for dinner, Emma raced to the mall, to finish up some last minute christmas shopping and to buy some more wrapping paper. When she got home she put herself to work and began wrapping all of the gifts she got for everyone. 

Looking over her list of gifts, Emma was happy to have gotten everything. 

Regina- Heeled black boots.   
Ruby-a crop top sweater  
August- New notebook with a set of new pens  
Mom-new winter coat  
Dad-New work boots 

The top five were the most important to her, she had others on her list that would get the traditional sweater. Once everything was done, Mary Margrette entered the room. 

“Hey Emma, have you been wrapping all afternoon?” she asked. 

“I sure have, I believe I am all done. I am just going to place these gifts under our tree!” Emma announced. 

When she returned from placing the gifts under her tree her mother spoke up. “I think you missed one. You still have something in the plastic bag.” 

“Oh, yeah, that is a birthday gift for someone. It's really early but I couldn’t resist.” Emma said, smiling before grabbing the plastic bag. She ran up to her room and placed the bag in her closet, before hearing a knock on her door. 

Turning around she was met with her mom. “Hey Emma, have you eaten lunch yet?” 

Emma looked at her watch and was shocked to see that it was 2:45 in the afternoon. “Oh, I guess I skipped it.” 

“No problem, your father and I wanted to have an early dinner, so we could go for a drive and look at Christmas lights, do you want to join us?” her mother asked, hopeful. 

“I would love to! I just have to do some work real quick, just let me know when dinner is ready.” Emma said, sitting down at her desk, pulling out her laptop. 

A little over 2 hours later, Emma was helping her mom clean up after their dinner, feeling exhausted. “Hey mom, how mad would you be if I passed on looking at Christmas lights?” 

“I would be slightly disappointed, why is everything okay?” Her mother asked.

“Yeah, everything is fine, I am just exhausted, I am thinking of crashing early.” Emma confessed. 

Smiling, her mom nodded. “That's okay honey. Your father and I will find the best houses tonight and tomorrow we will all go out.” 

Emma laughed slighted at her mother's Christmas spirit. “Sounds like a plan.” 

Emma made it up to her room and put on her pajamas. She layed in bed drifting off to sleep. The last thing she heard was her two car doors closing, letting her know, her parents were leaving for a couple of hours. 

Emma awoke in a bed of sweat, feeling a stabbing pain in her stomach. Emma could hardly move, but hoped a new position in bed would help her. When nothing seemed to work, Emma found herself in the fetal position, crying, fearing something was wrong with her baby. 

“MOM!” Emma was able to call out, hoping they were home. When no one answered, Emma began to panic, and forced herself to sit up in bed and turn her light on. When her light turned on, that’s when she noticed the blood. Emma felt another sharp pain ram through her, and she cried out in pain. 

Emma’s door opened and she saw both of her parents running to her. Her vision soon became blurry before going black. 

Later that day, Emma and her parents walked back into their house, and heavy weight surrounded them. Without saying a word, Emma went up to her room and opened her closet door, searching for the plastic bag. When she found it, she pulled out what was inside it. A newborn Onsie that read: “Mommy loves me”

Holding it close to her chest, Emma began to rock back and forth whispering, “I’m so sorry.”


	16. Chapter 16

The time on her bedside table read 4:45 AM. It had been two days since they brought Emma to the hospital, it’s been two days since Emma lost her baby. Mary Margret rolled over onto her back, her mind over flowing with every thought she has had in the past two days. Unable to sleep since the night she awoke to Emma screaming in pain, before passing out in front of them. Sighing, she decided to get up and check on her. 

Standing up from her bed, she heard her husband mumble something before falling back to sleep. Making her way to her daughters bedroom, she slowly opened the door. She found Emma fast asleep in the fetal position, holding something close to her. Mary Margret watched her daughter sleep for a moment, feeling nothing but sorrow for her. 

After a couple of minutes she decided she should get back to bed, but Emma’s bedroom door squeaked slightly before closing. She heard Emma breath in deeply before rolling over to look at her open bedroom door. 

“Mom?” Emma asked, her voice was hoarse and her throat felt raw. She had cried herself asleep like she had done the night before. 

“I’m sorry sweetie, I didn’t mean to wake you. I was just checking in on you.” Her mother said starting to close the door the rest of the way. “Go back to sleep.” 

“Wait, Mom, could you come here for a second?” Emma asked sitting up in bed, and turning on her bedside table’s light. 

“Of course.” Her mother said softly, walking over to Emma and sitting beside her. That’s when she noticed what Emma was holding on to. Laying beside Emma was a little white onesie, probably one that would fit a newborn baby. “Oh Emma!” Her mother cried, leaning in to give Emma a hug, who gladly accepted. 

“When did you get this?” She asked, releasing Emma and reaching over, touching the onecie softly. 

“When I went Christmas shopping. I was just about done and I was cutting through the baby section when it caught my eye. I thought it was cute at first and I started looking at other things and I could picture a little chubby cheeked baby smiling.” Emma said teary-eyed. “And that’s when..when…” Emma couldn’t hold it in anymore and leaned into her mother and began sobbing.   
“You decided to keep the baby, didn't you.” It was more of a statement than a question but Emma still nodded her head yes. 

The two of them sat on Emma’s bed holding each other until Emma was no longer crying. 

“I could see him.” Emma said, wiping her eyes clear of any tears. 

“Him?” Her mother asked, hoping she was referring to the baby. 

“The baby, my baby. I know I never found out the gender but I felt like it was a boy, and I always felt terrible calling the baby ‘it’” Emma said looking down at her hands. They were pulling at a loose string on her sheet. 

“Oh honey, I know this is hard, but I promise you, it will be okay. Trust me, maybe it just wasn’t the right time for him to be here. ” Mary Margret stated. 

Emma suddenly felt angry. Her eye’s shot to her mother. “Not the right time?! Nothing in life happens at the right time! Why would my life be any different? Why would life take away my child because the timing was off! That doesn’t seem fair.” Emma snapped. 

Her mother held onto her hands, letting Emma ramble on in her anger. “I certainly wasn’t planned, yet you guys were able to keep me. I just don’t understand why! All I want is to hold him and tell him he is loved more than he will understand. My heart feels like it shattered. Everything hurts.” Emma pulled back to hands and buried her head in them. Letting her tears flow freely. 

“I know.” She heard her mother say. 

Looking up, Emma met her mother’s glossy gaze. “You know?” 

Nodding, Mary Margret cleared her throat. “You were about two years old when your father and I found out that I was pregnant. We were so excited. We knew it would be great as a big sister, cause you always said you wanted one. I was about 14 weeks pregnant when we lost the baby. We were grateful we didn’t have to explain it to you. You didn’t quite understand what was going on, you were too little. I felt like my entire world had ended. I didn’t even leave my bed for a week. Your father was so great. He made sure you were fed and taken care of, and he would come in to make sure I would eat something.” Her mother said a tear rolling down her cheek. 

“What happened? How were you able to get out of bed and live with what happened?” Emma asked. 

“You were the reason I was able to eventually get out of bed.” She said, smiling. 

“Me? What did I do?” 

“Your father had just picked you up from a play date and you were so excited to show me what you made that you didn’t even take your shoes off when coming home. You ran from the front door, straight into our bedroom. You jumped onto the bed and showed me this drawing you made. All I saw was some blue scribbles but you told me that it was us. Mommy, Daddy and you.” She said, chuckling slightly. “I realized that I didn’t lose everyone. I still had your dad and you, so I got out of bed right after that and made you a snack.” 

“Do you still think of them?” Emma asked. 

“I do.” Mary Margrett said, nodding. “But I like to think that they are watching over all of us, watching us grow up and grow old. It’s hard but after some time of grieving, it is manageable.Just because you don’t cry for them anymore, or you have more kids, doesn’t mean they are not important to you. You have learned to live with them in your heart and not in your arms.” 

All Emma could do was nod before hearing her phone buzz and light up displaying the time. “It’s 5 in the morning.” Emma smiled slightly letting a chuckle escape. 

“What is it?” Her mother asked. 

“Even on as an adult I still wake up before the sun does on Christmas morning.” Emma joked. 

Smiling her mother stood up from her bed. “Well, what do you want to do? We can go back to bed, we can talk some more. I could put on a pot of coffee and we can look at the Christmas lights while we wait for your father to get up.” Her mother offered. 

After thinking for a moment, Emma nodded. “I think I would like some coffee.” 

It was around 7 AM when David woke up to an empty bed. Standing up and stretching, hearing and feeling his back crack, he gave a small sigh and put on his robe, hoping to find his wife downstairs. Making his way down the stairs he could hear the soft melody of Christmas music. Once he stepped foot in the living room, he was slightly confused to find it empty, until he heard his wife's voice from the kitchen. 

Walking into the kitchen he was surprised to find his wife and daughter sitting at the kitchen table, both with a cup of coffee in their hands talking. 

“Merry Christmas.” He stated, still standing in the entryway. 

“Merry Christmas!” his wife said, standing up from the table and walking over to him, greeting him with a kiss. 

“Merry Christmas Dad.” Emma said, standing up and walking over to her dad. 

He opened his arms and gave her a big hug, taking a mental picture of the moment. “Merry Christmas.” He whispered. 

“Well, now that everyone is awake, should we open gifts first or should we eat breakfast first.” Mary Margret asked. 

“Mom, when have we ever eaten breakfast before opening gifts.” Emma joked. 

David smiled over at Emma. “That’s my girl!” He laughed. 

After they had all opened their gifts, the pancakes were eaten, Emma sat down in the living room surrounded by wrapping paper, taking in the moment. 

“Emma?” She heard her mother call out. 

“In here.” 

“Hey, what are you doing here by yourself?” Her mother asked worriedly

“Just taking everything in.” Emma signed. “I think I am going to take a shower soon.” Emma announced. “Do you or Dad need the bathroom?” 

“No, we are all set. I was just about to put the Ham in.” She said, “What to help me out with the side dishes when you are ready?” 

“I would love to.” Emma said, smiling. 

Emma felt good being so busy. After she had showered she helped her mom make two different types of potatoes, roasted and mashed. She cooked up some veggies and made homemade rolls. She was setting the table when she heard a knock on the door. 

“Who could that be?” Her mother asked, wiping her hands on her apron before opening the door. 

Emma continued to set the table when she heard a familiar voice. 

“Hi Ma’am, you must be Emma’s mother.” 

“Killian?” Emma asked, walking around the corner to the front door, where her mother stood, the door opened with Killain on the other side and two gifts in his hands. 

“So you are the famous Killian who will be joining us for dinner tonight. Please come in!” Mary Margret announced, motioning her hand for him to come in. 

“Thank you! Oh and here, this is for you and your husband.” Killian handed one of the gifts over to her. 

“Oh, why thank you. That was so thoughtful.” 

Looking over, he met eyes with Emma. “Hello, Emma.” 

Emma felt the blood rushing to her cheeks and and her heart began to pound in her chest. “Hey Killian. I have to be honest, I kinda forgot you were coming, been crazy past couple of days.” Emma breathed out. 

“It’s alright, I woke up this morning not realizing what day it was and almost didn’t come because of it.” He laughed slightly. 

Well, I am glad you are here. We are just about to put dinner on the table.” Emma turned and showed him to the kitchen. She saw her parents opening the gift that Killian brought them. Her mother let out a gasp when she saw it. 

“Chocolate?! Oh my! I know what I am eating later tonight.” Her mother laughed. 

Killian chuckled. “It’s from Switzerland. My parents went there on their vacation and sent me a couple of boxes.” 

“Well that was very thoughtful. Thank you!” Mary Margret said, walking over and giving him a hug. “We hug in this family.” 

Smiling, Killian handed the other gift to Emma. “This one is for you.” 

Emma looked at Killian as she took the gift. “Oh, thank you, but I’m sorry, I didn’t get you anything.” 

“That’s okay, I wasn’t expecting you to. I saw this yesterday and I thought you might like it.” Killian said, smiling. 

Unwrapping the narrow box, Emma couldn’t help but smile. Under the wrapping was a Rectangular velvet box. Opening the box Emma was met with a silver bracelet with a blue sapphire in the middle. “Killian...Oh my...Thank you so much!” Emma felt her eyes fill up with tears as she pulled him into a hug. 

“I’m glad you like it.” Killian said shyly. 

Lost for words of what to say, Emma looked back down at the bracelet.

“Well I for one am hungry, How about we eat!” Her mother said, breaking Emma out of her trance she was in. 

“That sounds wonderful.” Killian said, still smiling. 

After dinner, everyone was in the living rubbing their overly filled stomach,

“That was delicious, Thank you for having me over for dinner.” Killian stated, looking over at Mary Margret. 

“Yes, thank you Dear.” David said, kissing his wife on the cheek. 

“Thank you Mom.” Emma said, not wanting to move. 

“You are all very welcome. And you're Killain are welcome here anytime.” Mary Margret said. 

“She just likes the chocolates you brought her.” David said jokingly. 

“They don’t hurt.” She replied smiling. 

“Emma, I was thinking about burning some of this food off, want to take a walk with me.” Killian asked. 

“Of course.” Emma said smiling, standing up from the couch. 

Once they were about a block away from her house, Killian cleared his throat quickly. “Thank you, for inviting me over for dinner. Your mother is a wonderful cook.” 

“Oh, really it was no problem at all. If my mother could cook for an entire kingdom she would.” Emma laughed. 

“Emma, I’m sorry if I am being too forward, but is everything okay?” He asked, turning his head to look at Emma. 

Biting her lip, Emma didn’t know what to say. Finally she stopped walking and looked over at him. “Can I show you something?” She asked. 

“Oh..um..yeah sure.” Killian said, a bit confused. 

“Here, follow me.” Emma grabbed Killians hand as they began jogging over to the woods. Running about 3 trees in, Emma looked up as did Killian. He saw the bottom of a tree house a couple yards up. “Come on.” Emma said, letting go of Killian’s hand and began climbing the ladder that was attached to the tree. 

Once both were inside, Killian took a look around. There were blankets everywhere, along with boy band posters and cute pictures of animals. A couple of fold up chairs and a few pillows scattered around. 

“I used to come up here a lot when I was in middle school and in high school. My friends and I would come up here and tell each other everything.” Emma said, looking around. 

“Thank you for showing me.” Killian said, smiling. 

Emma turned to look at him, before lowing herself to the floor of the treehouse and laying down on her back, looking up at the ceiling. 

“What are you doing?” Killian asked, still smiling. 

“This was how we would lay when we told each other really serious stuff. If our parents go into a fight, if we were scared of something. If we got hurt. Whatever was said here, was to never leave this place. This was our safe place” Emma said, still looking at the ceiling. 

Killian nodded and walked over to her, and laid down next to her. Copying her, he stared at the ceiling. After a few seconds had passed Killian wasn’t sure what to say. “Emma..” He said, 

“Yes.” Emma answered, still not looking at him. 

“Are you okay?” He asked again. 

He suddenly hears Emma suck in a shaking breath and in a cracking voice answer. “No..”

Emma felt her tears run down from her eyes and into her hair, but she didn’t care to wipe them away. “Killian..I want to tell you something, but please keep it between us.” Emma said. 

“Of course, that’s the rule of the treehouse.” Killian said, smiling when he heard Emma chuckle slightly. 

“Killian, do you remember when I was dating Neal?” She asked. 

“Yes.” he answered. He wanted to tell her she deserves better than him and was relieved when they broke up, but thought better of it. 

“When we split, I found out I was pregnant. I was so scared and confused and lost. I had no idea what I was going to do.” she said, her voice still shaking. 

“Emma. You said ‘was’, are you…” Killian didn’t know how to finish his sentence without hurting her. 

“I lost it. I had a miscarriage two days ago.” Emma said, surprising herself with how strong her voice was. 

“Emma, I am so sorry! I had no idea.” 

“I decided to keep him just hours before. I found this little onesie and I fell in love with it. I started looking at all this baby stuff and I could picture him playing with them and learning. I felt like I was watching him grow up.” Emma said sadly. Her mind filled with images of what she was imagining her son to look like. 

“Tell me about him.” Killain said. 

“What?” Emma asked, turning her head towards Killian. 

Looking back at her he gave her a small smile. “Tell me what you thought your son was going to be like. Who you thought he would be. I want to get to know him.” 

Turning her head, she stared back at the ceiling. “He would have dark black hair. And have a little dimple whenever he would smile. He would have an amazing imagination and always come up with these amazing stories about fairy tales. I would push him to become an author if that was what he would have wanted.” Emma said, smiling. 

“You have thought about this a lot.” Killian said, his own eyes tearing up. “He sounds like he would have been a wonderful kid.” 

“I dream about him. My mom was the one who got me out of bed today and told me things that were sad, but oddly enough made me feel better.” Emma said, feeling like a weight had been lifting off of her. 

Turning her head, she smiled and looked at him. “While we are here, is there anything on your mind?” Emma asked. “Any secret that you want to share?” 

Taking a deep breath Killian closed his eyes. “Emma, I lied earlier. When I told you I forgot today was christmas and almost didn’t come. I almost didn’t come because...because I was afraid I would tell you something dumb and ruin our freindship.” 

“Killian, I don’t think you could ever ruin our friendship. You are way too nice, and generous and understanding. I honestly don’t know how I made it through life for 18 years without you.” Emma said. “Nothing could ruin what we have.” 

Killian decided to push his luck. “Emma, I like you. I really like you. I know this is an inappropriate time to say this, but I think you are beautiful and deserve better than what life has handed you. You are the reason why I still work at a financial office and why I still go to school in the states. You are amazing Emma, and I want to stay in your life for as long as I can.” Killian finally opened his eyes and looked over at Emma, who was staring at him with the most amazed look in her eyes. 

Emma reached over and cupped his cheek with her hand and leaned him to kiss him. It was a quick kiss, but everything that needed to be said was in that kiss. “Thank you Killian.” Emma said. 

“Of course Emma. I am always going to be here.”


	17. Chapter 17

Emma felt the morning sun warming her face as she woke up. Opening her eyes, she saw the sun streaming through her window. Climbing out of bed, she drew back her curtains and saw a fresh blanket of snow. 

She began thinking of when she was a little kid and her and her parents would be playing in the snow, making snowmen and having snowball fights. She smiled slightly at the memories, till she heard a knock on her door. 

“Come in.” Emma said, turning around to face the door. A crooked smile on her face when her mother entered. 

“It has been awhile since I have seen you smile. I have missed that smile.” Her mother said, walking over to her. Emma turned back around looking outside of her window. 

“I was just thinking about when I was a kid and we would build snowmen and have snowball fights.” Emma said, smiling again. “I was thinking of a time when we were soaking wet from the snow and we were so cold we were shaking, but we were still smiling and laughing. We all wanted hot chocolate but when you went to the kitchen it was all gone. So we decided to make our own. Melting chocolate chips and mixing it with milk and adding whipped cream and cinnamon.”

“That was when we found out that we both loved cinnamon on our hot chocolate.” Mary Margret said chuckling at the memory. 

“Do you think…” Emma started, only stopping by her voice cracking. “Do you think I would have had that with..um..with..” Emma’s eyes filled up with tears, as she felt her heart being ripped out of her chest, thinking of what was taken from her. What she could have had. 

“Oh Emma!” Her mother turned her around, before wrapping her up in a hug that made her feel like a little kid. “Please don’t cry. I am so sorry, Sweetie.” 

Emma felt her knee beginning to give out. She let go of her mother and went and sat down on her bed, burying her head in her hands, feeling the bed shift beneath her as her mother sat beside her. Emma layed down, placing her head on her mother's lap, letting the tears flow. 

“Shh, it's okay.” her mother consoled her,feeling her run her fingers through her hair and rocking back and forth gently. 

After a few minutes Mary Margret broke the silence. “Emma, I know you are supposed to go back to college tomorrow, but if you want, you can stay here a couple more days.” 

Emma got up from her mother’s lap shaking her head. “No, I think this is something that I am going to need to do. If I don’t leave tomorrow, I may never leave. Trust me, I want nothing more than to lay in bed all day everyday and feel sorry for myself, but I also know that won’t do me any good. Life still goes on, even after something like this happens.” 

“Okay, if that is what you really want to do, then we will see you off tomorrow, but you know, you father and I will be here whenever you need us.” her mother said, her own face drying of tears. 

“I know you guys are always going to be here, and I know you guys will support me in anything I want to do. Thank you for being so understanding and taking my mood swings day by day. I know I haven’t been the easiest person to talk to lately, and for that I am sorry, I am sorry for everything.” Emma said, looking down at her hands. 

“Emma, I have told you time and time again, this is not your fault. We can never understand why bad things happen to good people. You have every right to feel a different way, everyday, every hour, or every minute. What happened was confusing and scary and sad, but you will come through this stronger than ever.” her mother said, grabbing Emma’s hands. 

“I know, and I don’t know when I will go back to feeling normal. I have been having a couple of good days, and then I feel bad for having a good day when my baby has passed away.” Emma admitted. 

“Emma, you can’t guilt yourself into feeling sad all the time. You still should live your life.” 

“I know, and I am learning to do that.” Emma grew silent for a moment, before looking back over at her mom. “Before dinner I have to run an errand, I promise to be home for dinner, there is just something I need to do.” 

“Okay, did you want your father or I to come with you?” her mother asked.   
“No this is something I need to do alone, but thank you.” Emma said, smiling. “Until then, I think today is a good day to build a snowman. “

As the hours passed throughout the day Emma did everything she could to keep her baby off of her mind. After speaking with her mother, Emma put on her snowboots and her jacket and went outside and started to build a snowman. Her mother soon followed, smiling, adn slightly shocked at the sudden change in behavior. When her father looked out the window and saw his wife and daughter playing in the snow, he couldn’t help but smile before putting on his own boots and jacket and joining them. 

The rest of the morning and part of the afternoon, the three of them spent their time outside, building a couple of different snowmen. When David threw a snowball at Mary Maragret, she went to throw one back at him only for him to dodge it, and it ended up hitting Emma. Turning around in shock, Emma began laughing before picking up her snowball and threw it at her mom. They had a snowball fight, all three of them acting like children and enjoying every minute of it. It was only when they began shivering from the cold did they decide to go back inside and have something to eat and make hot chocolate. 

When the food was eaten and the hot chocolate was gone from their cups, Emma looked outside and saw that she had about 30 minutes of daylight left. “Hey guys, I have to run an errand, but I will be back in time for dinner.” With that, Emma left her parents house, heading to the store, smiling at the amazing day she had. 

Emma stood in the middle of her favorite walking path in the woods. Looking around she noticed the lake that was about 5 feet from her was frozen over. Everything was covered in snow, giving Emma the illusion she was in the middle of her own winter wonderland. 

The sun was beginning to set, hitting the snow just right for everything to sparkle. Emma let herself remember when she was a kid and she would run around these woods, pretending she was a fairy princess, or an Ogre was coming for her. 

Looking up, Emma looked at the Balloon she bought at the store a few minutes before. Pullin on the string, she caught the balloon in her hands. The Balloon was blue with big bubble letters spelling out Miss You.

“This was my favorite place to be as a kid.” Emma said, holding onto the balloon. “I would have liked to believe you would have had some amazing adventures here. I would have shown you where the Ogre king lives, and I’m sure your grandfather would have loved to teach you how to sword fight. I would have bought some blank woodend once and you and your grandmother could have painted them.” Emma smiled, imaging the life that could have been. “I am so sorry you were taken from us before getting a chance to lIve your life. I will never forget you. I love you so much.I promise to carry you around with me everyday. I will live my life the way I would want you to live yours.” 

Giving the balloon a tearstained kiss, Emma took in a deep breath and let go of the balloon, watching it go higher and higher. She looked up at the sky long after she lost sight of the balloon. Wiping the tears from her face, she took another deep breath and made her way out of the woods and towards her car, to make it home for dinner, before going back to college the next day. 

Emma closed her car door and took a deep breath in, before looking around. She was back at school. She felt like it had been a lifetime since she was here. So much has happened in the last few weeks. Opening her passenger side door, and grabbing her backpack alone with her christmas gifts she had for her friends, She heard a high pitched, delighted squeal behind her. 

“Emma!”

Turning around to see the source of the squeal, she smiled. “Ruby!” She called back. With her back back on one shoulder and her gifts in her hands in front of her, they reached each other and embraced in an awkward hug, but neither one of them cared.

“Look at you! You got so tan! Florida was good to you.” Emma laughed, looking at her friend glowing, only to look darker with the snowy that surrounded them. 

“Why thank you! And you look...tired..” Ruby admitted, her smile fading for a moment. “Is everything okay?” 

Before she could answer, she heard a deep warm chuckle behind her. “I for one think we should have had another week of vacation. I’m not ready to start up school again.” 

“August!” Emma said, giving out another hug, doing her best to not to crush the gifts. 

Before either one of them could say anything, they heard the clicking of heels on pavement approaching them. “Now, who do we know would wear heels in the middle of winter.” Ruby joked. 

“Regina.” They all said in unison, giggling.

“Ask and you shall receive.” They heard Regina’s voice from behind August. 

After they all exchanged hugs, and “great to see you” They agreed to meet for dinner in about an hour, enough time for them to go back to their dorms and get settled in. An hour later, Emma entered the dining hall and saw August and Ruby sitting at a table, waiting for the rest of them, Emma joined them, feeling more at ease and better than she had the last few weeks. 

After a few minutes of the three of them catching up, they heard a guy wolf whistle from across the room. Looking up they say Regina, hanging up her jacket. When she turned to walk towards them, all of their mouths dropped. Regina was wearing a pair of black knee high, high heel boots, with a black tights. A skin tight leather skirt, and a skin tight black sparkly sweater. Regina’s hair was curled and her make up was done, like she was going out on the town. 

“Damn Regina, You look hot!” Ruby commented had Regina sat down at the table. 

“Why thank you dear.” Regina answered smiling. 

“Ruby is right, you look good.” August said, smiling, wondering where she got her sweater. 

“You look too good.” Emma replied. “Alright, spill. Who is he?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Regina asked, smirking. 

“You know what I mean. You were clearly trying to hide the fact that you were at the skiing lodge with a guy, and I know you Regina. You only dress up this much when you are feeling a certain way. A way only a guy can make you feel. Now come on now, who is this mystery man?” Emma interrogated. 

“I plead the fifth.” Regina stated, taking a sip of her drink. 

“I don’t buy it. I want a real answer Regina.” Emma argued.”Please, just say it for me.” Emma said, giving her the best doe eyed look she could do. 

“Alright, I will tell you, as long as you get the stupid look off your face.” Regina caved. “His name is Robin. I don’t know if anything is going to happen between him and I, so I don’t want to make a big deal about this. I met him last year at the ski lodge, we never spoke, just made eyes at each other. This year, however, he came up to me and we started talking and we really enjoyed each other's company.” 

“Oh yeah, how did you enjoy eachothers company?” Ruby asked, wiggling her eyebrows. 

Clearing her throat, Regina looked away from Ruby and looked over at a laughing Emma. “So tell me Emma, we haven't heard from you since your ultrasound. How are you? How is the baby?” 

Emma’s face fell and she quickly looked down at the table. Her normal feeling going away, only to be replaced with sadness, guilt, and embarrassment. “Oh.. um..” Emma began to pull slightly at her sweater. Feeling like everyone was staring at her. 

“Emma?” August asked, she looked at him quickly then the rest of the group feeling her face grow hot. 

“Emma, what's wrong?” Regina asked. 

Taking a couple of deep breaths to keep her emotions at bay, Emma finally looked up and looked at her friends. “I..um...I lost it.” she whispered, her heart breaking. 

Her entire table went silent. She felt August’s grip grow tighter on her arm. She felt Ruby reach over and begin rubbing her back in comforting circles. She looked over and saw Regina, one hand on her mouth the other on her chest. Unable to hold it back anymore, Emma let a few tears escape. “I’m so sorry.” she said. 

“Oh Emma, you have nothing to be sorry for. This wasn’t your fault Honey.” August said, not rubbing her arm. Emma was beginning to feel like a petting zoo and was grateful Regina wasn’t getting up to hug her. 

“No, I know it was my fault. At least that is what I keep telling myself, but I am sorry for not telling you guys sooner. I just felt so embarrassed and hurt and.. and broken.” Emma said, wiping away her tears. 

“Emma, when did you lose the baby?” Ruby asked. “If you are not comfortable or ready to tell us then that is completely understandable. You can tell us whatever you want, whenever you want.” Ruby added quickly. 

Emma nodded. “Remember when I called you guys and showed you the pictures of the baby?” she asked, she watched as everybody nodded their heads. “Well the next day I did some last minute Christmas shopping and I felt funny and really tired when I got home. My parents wanted to look at Christmas lights and I told them to go without me. I fell asleep shortly after. I woke up a few hours later and ...I...and I was in pain. My parents brought me to the hospital and they told me I lost it.” 

“Oh Emma.” She heard Ruby cry beside her. 

“For the next couple of days I didn’t leave my bed unless I had to. I didn’t understand what happened. I didn’t understand why. My entire body hurt from this loss. Christmas morning rolled around and my mom was able to help me out of bed and the pain didn’t hurt as much. I think the pain will grow weaker over time but I doubt this will ever go away.” Emma realized that she was crying, unable to hold back any emotion. 

“Oh sweetie, I am so very sorry that happened. Is there anything we can do?” August asked.

“Just be here and be patient with me.” Emma stated. 

“Of course, take all the time in the world.” Ruby offered, giving her a small smile. 

Their tables remain quiet for a moment, all of them taking in the moment. Regina was the first to end the silence. “Well, how about tomorrow morning, if we are all up for it, we go get coffee at our usual spot and try to get back into the routine of things.” She offered. 

“Regina, that is a bit rude wouldn’t you say?” August scolded.

“No Regina is right. We need to get back to the way things were. Everything might be different now, but life goes on and we need to as well. Coffee sounds great.” Emma stated, giving Regina a smile, which she returned. 

When dinner was over, the group hugged outside Emma’s door, before saying goodbye and good night. Emma turned to unlock her door and she heard Regina shift awkwardly behind her. 

“Emma..” She started. 

Turning around, Emma saw that Regina’s eyes were flooded with tears, threatening at any moment to overflow. “Yes?” 

“Emma, this might be a stupid question, but are you okay?” she asked. 

“I think I will be, as of right now, all I know is that I want to take a hot shower and try to sleep more than 3 hours a night.” Emma said with a sigh. 

“You know that we all love you and will be there for you no matter what. We may not always know what to say but we will be there for you.” Regina said, taking a step closer. 

“I know you guys are and I love all of you too.” Emma replied. 

Before Emma could say anything else, Regina wrapped her arms around her. Both women held each other, letting the tears fall freely. After a minute, Regina pulled away, wiping her face. “I will see you for coffee in the morning.” 

“See you in the morning.” Emma said, waving goodbye. 

The next morning, the group of friends found themselves in their usual spot at the cafe. Emma with her usual black coffee. Ruby with her latte, August with an ice coffee, and Regina with her hot Apple cider. 

Emma was listening to Ruby finish her story about one of the many hot men she met in Florida. She was allowing herself to feel happy and to live in the moment. Emma finally felt like everything was going to be okay. 

Suddenly the Cafe’s door slammed open, the bell on the door jingled with such force, Emma feared it would break or come off. Looking up her heart sank to her stomach and her throat felt it was threatening to close. 

“Emma!” His voice boomed through the entire cafe. 

“Neal! Wha..” Before she could finish speaking, Neal cut her off. 

“Is it true? It is true that you were pregnant?”


	18. Chapter 18

Emma sat in her seat feeling every emotion boiling in her stomach. She wasn’t sure how she was feeling. The more she looked at Neal, standing there across the room, an angry look painted on his face. She watched him for a moment, his shoulders moving up and down quickly. He was panting. 

“Well!” Neal yelled. 

“Neal, I think you should calm down.” August suggested, standing up, hoping to defuse the situation. 

“Calm down! You have got to be kidding me.” Neal stated, looking at August before snapping back at Emma. “What, are you gonna let your friends fight your own battles.” 

“Well that seems less than fair.” Ruby stated, everyone was surprised how harsh her voice was. 

“Fair, you have to be kidding me. None of this is fair. I have no idea what is happening and I want answers!” 

Maybe if you came in calm and collected and asked to speak to Emma, she would have done so gladly, if she wanted.” Regina stated smugly. 

“Listen here you bitch.” Neal snarled, taking a step toward Regina, pointing his finger at her. 

“Neal!” Emma projected. “That’s enough.” 

“Oh, so she does speak.” Neal said, returning his attention to Emma. 

“How about we talk about this in a more private place, or at the very least outside.” Emma said softly, standing up. 

“No, I want to talk about this right here, right now.” Neal stated. “I wanna know why I was packing up my stuff at my parents when a buddy of mine called, telling me I needed to come back to campus. Tell me why, when I met up with him, he is giving me some story about how he heard you were pregnant. What does that mean, Emma? What does he mean, were?”   
Emma felt all the color drain from her face. She just told her friends yesterday about her miscarriage, how does the entire college campus already know? 

“Who told you that?” Emma cured when her own voice betrayed her, cracking as she asked Neal. 

“No, you answer me first.” Neal demanded, stepping closer to Emma, only inches away from her. 

“It must have been Graham.” They heard Regina half whisper. 

“Will you shut up and stay out of this!” Neal yelled. 

“You made her a part of this when you barrelling in here and yelling. “ Emma started to raise her voice, almost yelling, her own anger boiling over. “For your information, yes, I was pregnant. I was going to tell you that day you came to see me at the dining hall, but how could I have told right after you told me it was selfish of me to want to bring a child into this world. You don’t need to worry anymore because I lost it!” 

Emma felt her angry boiling over, more and more, she knew she was making a scene at the coffee shop and quickly turned around, grabbed her jacket off of the back of her chair and began leaving, with Neal close behind her. 

“Emma wait.” Neal called after her. 

Emma didn’t want to talk anymore and kept walking down the street until she felt a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to turn around. 

“What Neal, I gave you your answer, what else could you possibly want from me?” 

“Emma.” Neal’s voice and face suddenly softened, realizing how serious the situation was. “Please, just tell me what happened.” 

Emma realized she was crying as she sniffed to clear her nose. “I don’t know where to begin. “ Emma said, turning back around, both of them beginning to walk slowly down the sidewalk. 

“Well, when did you find out when you were pregnant?” Neal asked. 

Emma flinched internally, the words “Were pregnant” echoing in her head. 

“I found out I was pregnant the morning after we broke up. I took a little while for it to sink in. The thought of telling you scared me. I knew if we had a baby together, we would be stuck. I may not be able to start a carrier, we more than likely won't be able to move, and we just broke up over some very serious stuff.

“I didn’t even tell my friends for awhile. The day you met me at the dining hall I was going to tell you, but then you said the thing about being selfish. Neal, how could I have told you after that. I told my friends after that, and I was planning on telling you. I figured I would play it safe and when I hit the twelve week mark I would reach out to you.” Emma drew in a shaky breath. 

They walked in silence for a few minutes, until Neal asked another question. “When..when did you lose it?” 

Nodding her head, Emma took another deep breath in. “Over Christmas break, a couple of days before Christmas..” 

“6 weeks?” Neal asked suddenly. 

“Just about.” Emma agreed. 

“Did your parents know?”

“They did. I hadn’t planned on telling them until I told you and if anything would change after telling you, but when you are pregnant you tend to get sick a lot, that's hard to hide from people who live under the same roof as you. I told them my first morning home a couple hours before my doctor's appointment.” Emma admitted. 

“What did they say?”

“They were very supportive. They understood that this would be hard but doable. They were going to support me no matter what my decision was.” 

“Decision?” 

“Adopting or keeping the baby.” Emma said. Noticing a small path heading into a light wooded area, she started heading towards it, Neal complying.   
“What did you decide?” Neal asled, trying to wrap his head around this whole situation. 

“I first told people, adoption. That would be the easy thing right? Just hand the baby over over to a family who could raise the baby and give it the life it deserves. But the more I thought about it, I realized that would be harder than raising the baby. I knew I would have a great support system and I would be able to see him grow up.” Emma smiled, picturing a small brown hair boy, who she attached to being her son. 

“Him? I thought six weeks was too early to know the gender.” Neal asked. 

“Huh? Oh it is! I always felt like the baby was a boy, I never knew the actual gender though.” Emma stated. 

“Well it doesn’t matter what the gender is anymore. It’s irrelevant, nothing we need to worry about.” 

“Neal!” Emma said sternly, turning towards him. 

“I’m sorry.. Um.. go ahead, finish your story.” Neal stated awkwardly. 

“A day or so after I made my decision to keep the baby I woke up in a lot of pain and covered in blood… god there was so much blood. I passed out before my parents had time to bring me to the hospital. When I awoke they told me I lost the baby. Like it was my car keys or something.” Emma said softly. 

“Emma.” Neal said. He had stopped walking and lightly grasped her arm. “I am truly sorry for my reaction earlier, I shouldn’t have barged in. I was confused and angry, and I…” Neal began searching his brain for the right word to use, but couldn’t. There was no word to describe how he was feeling. 

“I know, I was that way for about two weeks.” Emma said, trying to lighten the mood slightly. 

“You said you went to the doctor’s.” Neal stated. 

“Yes, I did.” 

“Where you able to see the baby? Get pictures I mean.” Neal stammered. 

“Yes, I was able to bring a few of them home with me.” 

“Can I see?”


	19. Chapter 19

“Wow, so that’s what an ultrasound looks like.” Neal said dumbfounded staring at the pictures of his and Emma’s baby, having a hard time wrapping his head around everything. 

After asking to see the pictures, Emma brought Neal back to her dorm and dug into one of her suitcases before pulling out the pictures. 

“I mean, that’s our baby.” Neal said, lightly rubbing his finger on the little white blob, smiling. 

“Was.” Emma said softly. 

Neal turned his head to look at Emma. “Right, was.” 

Emma sat down on her bed and brought her knees to her chest, resting her head on her knees, closing her eyes, feeling tears rising up. 

“Oh Emma.” Neal said, walking over and sat down next to her, hesitating a moment, before wrapping his arms around her. She felt her slowly start to relax to his touch and leaned into him a bit more. He continued to hold onto her, enjoying the feeling.

After a couple of minutes, Emma sat up quickly, wiping her face clear of tears. “I’m.. um. I’m sorry about that.” Emma said, clearing her throat, getting off of her bed. 

“Hey, nothing to be sorry about. I hope I helped in some way.” Neal said, standing up himself, leaving the pictures on the bed. 

“Oddly enough, I think you did. This whole thing has been hard, and though my friends and family have been supportive, I feel better that you now know.” Emma admitted. 

“Well I gave you no choice, but I am glad you told me. Again, I am so sorry..” Neal started. 

“Hey, Neal it’s okay.” Emma interrupted. “I probably wouldn’t have acted any better if I was you.” Emma joked slightly. 

“Well, at least life can go back to normal now.” Neal said.

“What?” Emma asked. 

“I mean at least we don’t need to worry about a baby now, we can go back to life. If that means you and I are still going our separate ways or if we will get back together.” Neal offered. 

“Back to..Nothing about what happened was normal Neal! Nothing! I just can’t go back to my life worried about what new boy drama I had gotten myself into. I have bigger things to worry about!” Emma started to yell, turning around to face a surprised Neal. 

“Emma, nothing has changed.” Neal tried to explain. 

“EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED!” Emma screamed. “GET OUT!” 

“I’m not going to leave while you are this upset. Please just calm down.” Neal said, hoping to ease this sudden outburst. 

“No! I'm not going to calm down!.” Emma stated, reaching over and grabbed a pillow off of her bed and threw it at him. 

“Emma!” Neal said dodging the pillow. 

“I said ‘get out!’” Emma screamed again, throwing another pillow. 

Neal caught the pillow, noticing an article of clothing clinging onto it. Taking it off he noticed it was a small white newborn Onesie that read: “Mommy loves me”. 

He looked up when he heard Emma gasp. “Neal, please give that back.” She pleaded, her voice quivering. 

Neal handed the onesie back to Emma without hesitation. She gently held it to her chest, while she sat back down on her bed. “It….it was for the baby. I..I..” Emma stuttered, unable to finish her sentence. She broke down crying, clutching the article of clothing. 

Emma felt Neal place his hand on her shoulder. “It’s.. it’s going to be okay. I don’t know how and I don’t know when, but it will be. It has to be.” 

“You weren’t there.” Emma whispered. 

“What?” he asked, unable to hear her. 

“You weren’t there.” Emma said loudly. “You were not there when I was pregnant, you weren’t there that night, or the days to follow. I needed someone and you where were you? You were at home, getting high without a care in the world.” Emma projected, standing back up, shaking off Neal’s hand. 

“That’s not fair and you know it.” Neal said, taken back. 

“No, it’s not. It’s not fair that the first man I ever thought that I loved decided to choose drugs over me. How I fell in love with someone who beat up my best friend because she got close to finding out who he really was. It’s not fair that I had to get my life together in a matter of days, because my life was going to change because I was going to have a baby. It’s not fair I was going to be alone, It's not fair that I had to wake up one night, and lose something I didn’t realize held a large part of my heart. So no, it's not fair.” Emma stated, her heart pounding with adrenaline, but she never felt stronger. 

Neal stood there, staring at her, lost for words. 

“I suggest you leave. Have a nice life.” Emma stated, turning and walking into her bedroom. 

Neal slightly walked out of Emma’s dorm, and out to the street. He walked past her group of friends that were waiting outside. He didn’t say anything to them, and couldn’t hear them asking what happened. He felt numb as he got in his car and drove to his parents house. Once inside he heard his mom ask if that was him. Without answering her, he ran up the stairs and went into his room. He sat down on his bedroom floor, his back against his bed. Unable to hold it in anymore, Neal began to let the tears fall. He soon found himself bawling into his mother's arms, unaware of when she came into his room and how long they had been like that. 

Neal pulled back and looked at his mom. 

“Honey, what happened?” She asked.


	20. Chapter 20

Emma stood in the middle of her empty dorm, looking around thinking of what a crazy few years she had. She left high school and went to college, with her two best friends. Ruby and August. The three of them thought they could take on the world. 

When Emma moved into her first dorm, she was excited to meet her roommate. When she first walked into the room she saw a half of the room looked like it came out of a magazine. There were white fairy lights that hung from the ceiling and boarded the half that was being used. There was a bright white fluffy bedspread with a deep purple blanket folded at the bottom of the bed. There were around nine fluffy throw pillows on one corner of the bed, with a dreamcatcher overlooking everything

The desk was white with little shelves that already had binders and folders inserted with a little lamp on the other side. In the middle of the desk were a couple of cute picture frames and a calendar. On the wall over top of the desk was a few pictures. 

Before Emma could get a good look at the pictures, she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around she saw an average height girl, with long dark brown hair, Emma thought it was black at first glance. The girl was dressed in black dress pants that tie in the front with a purple velvet shirt on top. Emma couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something almost regal about her. 

“What are you doing?” The girl asked, walking deeper into the room.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I was just admiring your side of the room. It's so organized.” Emma stumbled out, hoping she didn’t ruin making friends with her roommate already. 

“Yes, well, thank you.” The girl said, stepping over to her bed. Looking back over at Emma who was still standing at her desk. “Do you mind?” 

“I’m Emma.” She blurted out, extending her hand. 

“Regina.” The girl said, shaking her hand quickly but firmly. 

After a couple of moments of silence, Emma cleared her throat. “I really like your pictures. Are they family? Friends?” 

Regina gave her a little annoyed look. “A mixture of both. What are you doing?” 

Emma was taken back by the question and wasn’t sure how to answer. “I was just..”

“Look, I’m not someone who likes to talk about personal things, and I like my privacy. If you could kindly go back to your side of the room, that would be greatly appreciated.” Regina said sternly, pulling out her laptop and sitting on her bed. 

Emma went to her side of the room, getting ready to unpack, grumbling about how this was going to be a long year. 

“Hey, Emma.” 

Emma, being pulled from her memory, turned around and saw Regina leaning on the door frame. “Hey.” She replied smiling. 

“Are you okay?” Regina asked, stepping into the room. 

“Yeah, I am okay. I was actually just thinking about when you and I first met,” she replied smiling. 

“I wasn’t the most welcoming person, was I?” Regina joked. 

“Not at first, but that was one of your walls. I soon broke through and looked at us now.” Emma said. 

Both women leaned in and gave each other a hug, only to be pulled away after a moment, from a voice at the door. 

“Hey, you two ready?” August asked. 

“Yeah, come on, I don’t want to be late!” Ruby said, unable to stand still. 

Emma nodded and grabbed her graduation cap from the bed. 

The four of them walking out of the dorm hall together, talking about the fun times they have had. 

An hour later Emma was standing with her classmates in a big open field, listening to what felt like the tenth speech of the day. Finally, Emma saw the one person she was waiting for. The Dean of Students walked onto the stage. 

“Good afternoon everyone. I would like to start off by congratulating everyone on their hard work, and on this amazing accomplishment. I have seen so many of you the last four years grow into such independent adults, I have no doubt in my mind, you all will go on to do great things. 

“Now I am not one to give long speeches, so I would like to begin reading off the list of the graduating class….” 

Emma let her mind wander slightly, still thinking about the past. All the stories she now can tell and her three close friends she knows will stay in touch in the years to come. Before she knew it, she was next in line to walk across the stage. 

“Emma Swan.” 

Emma walked across the stage, unable to contain her smile on her face. She almost wanted to laugh when she heard her mother’s howl of joy. She grabbed her diploma in her hand and walked off the stage. When her feet touched the grass again, Emma looked out to the audience and saw her mother and father out in the audience. They both looked so proud. 

Emma went back to her original spot and waited for the magic words. After a couple of minutes passed, she finally heard them. 

“It is my honor to present to you the graduating class of 2016!” 

Emma grabbed her cap and threw it up in the air with the rest of her class, allowing herself to laugh a little. She waited for her cap to fall on the ground and she went to pick it up. 

“Emma we did it!” Ruby said, running over and grabbing her for a hug. 

“We sure did,” Emma answered, returning the hug. 

Later that evening about an hour before the sun was setting, Emma was back at her parent's place, up in her old room, getting ready for a party her parents insisted on throwing her. She began to hear people downstairs, and she decided to head down, not before looking in the mirror one more time. 

She was wearing a light pink dress that stopped at the knee, with an open back. Her hair was in a loose curled bun at the nape of her neck with a few loose strands to frame her face. Putting on a pair of white flats, she made her way down the stairs. 

“There she is, the woman of the hour.” she heard her dad call from the bottom of the stairs. She heard a couple of people cheer as she made her way down the last few steps. 

“Thanks, Dad,” Emma said smiling, reaching up to give him a hug. “But I think we should also congratulate my friends as well,” she replied, reaching for August, Ruby, and Regina, who was more than happy to join her. 

After a few more congratulations, Emma was but a table of food, grabbing a plate of fruit when Ruby came up next to her. 

“Emma,” she whispered in a serious tone. 

“Ruby,” Emma whispered back, a little more playful. 

“There is someone here who wants to talk to you,” she said a little bit louder. 

As if on cue, Regina and August came rushing over. “Who is it?” Emma asked. 

“Well, I am not sure you want to talk with them, because I know for a fact they were not invited,” Ruby said. 

“Ruby, just tell us who it is.” Regina insisted. 

“Neal is here for you.” 

“Oh.” was all Emma could say. It had been months since they last spoke and they didn't end the conversation on great terms. 

“You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to,” August said, placing a hand on her lower back. 

“We can go get rid of him for you.” Regina almost snarled. 

“No, let me go see what he wants,” Emma said, walking towards the front of her house. 

She noticed Neal’s car was parked in her street, and he began making his way up her driveway. 

“Neal.” She called out. 

“Oh, hi, Emma.” He stuttered. 

“What can I do for you?” Emma said, surprising herself that her voice was not bitter or stern, but instead inviting. 

“Well, I wanted to come by and say congratulations, and I can’t begin to explain how sorry I am..” Neal began to say. 

“Neal, don’t be sorry. It has been a rough year for everyone. I don’t mean to be rude, but right now is not the best time for this.” Emma replied, not allowing him to wake further up her driveway. 

“I know it's not, I was just thinking that maybe, just maybe we could work something out.” His voice was soft but broken. 

“Neal, I..” Emma started before being interrupted. 

“Emma!.” she heard a Scottish accent call her name. She turned around smiling, knowing exactly who it was. 

“Killian!” She took a few steps forward and was happy to be captured in his arms. After Christmas break, he had given her some space to deal with everything, but he let her know he was always going to be there for her. In the last few weeks, he began to come around a bit more, and she couldn’t be happier about it. 

“Congratulations!” he said, letting go over her. 

“You as well!” she exclaimed. 

His eyes shifted upwards a bit, looking at the man who was standing in her driveway.   
“Killian, this is Neal. Neal this is Killian.” Emma said, gesturing to one another. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Killian said, reaching his hand out, to shake his hand. 

“You as well,” Neal said, accepting his hand. 

“Killian, could you give me a minute. I will be back inside in just a second.” Emma stated. 

Nodding, he looked back at Emma. “Yeah, not a problem, but when you come back in, your parents have a bet on who can eat the most tacos, and I think I am going to beat you. “

“You're on!” Emma called after him. 

Once he was back inside, Emma turned her attention back to Neal. “Sorry about that, what were you saying.” 

“I think I am going to head out,” Neal admitted. “I have never heard your voice be filled with so much hope and love for someone, then when you were talking with him. I don’t belong here, that much I know.” 

“Are you going to be okay,” Emma asked. 

“Yeah, I am moving out to New York. Graham and I found a place to live out there and my job is willing to transfer.” Neal said, placing his hands in his pockets. 

“That’s great Neal! You will do great out there.” Emma said. 

“What about you? Any plans now that college is done?” he asked. 

“Yeah, I actually have a job lined up at a police station to start training for a private investigator position. The training will take months, so in the meantime, I will be a police officer, and working part-time as a bail bondsman .” Emma said proudly, standing up a little bit straighter. 

“Wow, sounds like you have everything figured out, and that you are going to be busy.” Neal chuckled slightly. 

“Yeah, I guess I do,” Emma said shyly. 

“Emma, come on! The tacos are getting cold!” They heard someone call from the window. 

“I should get going,” Neal said, taking a couple of steps back. 

“Okay, I hope New York treats you well!” she called after him, turning around to head back inside. 

“Emma, I think that you were right,” Neal said, causing her to turn around. 

“About what?” 

“He would have been a boy.” 

Emma turned back around, smiling inwardly, making her way back inside. 

“Are you ready to taste defeat?” Killian asked her, once she was back inside. 

“In your dreams.”


	21. Epilogue

Emma sat on a wooden swing her husband built for her in the backyard. She was looking out toward her back fence watching the sun go down. So much has happened in the last five years, she often forgot to sit back and take it all in. 

After graduating college she started working at her local police station and soon fell in love with the job. Every other weekend she was working as a bail bondsman to help her get the experience. She was able to find an apartment quickly after starting both jobs. After two years of working at the police station she was able to start working as a private investigator. 

The middle of summer after graduation, Killian asked Emma out on a date. She accepted, and they never looked back. A year later, they moved in together and had a small gathering at their new place in Boston. That Christmas Killian asked Emma to marry him. She tearfully accepted. 

Two years later Emma found herself walking down the aisle, ready to spend the rest of her life with Killian by her side. The day couldn’t have gone better. She had her girls by her side, with Ruby has her maid of honor and Regina her bridesmaid. Killian had his brother, Liam, has his best man, and August as his groomsman. After vowing their lives to one another, sealed with a kiss and a quick dance, the night ended with drinking and dancing, until everyone's feet hurt. 

Emma never thought much about getting married, and yet, here she was, the first one in her friend group, a married woman. A year after getting married, Killian and Emma bought a small little Dutch Colonial home with a large backyard. Emma couldn’t be happier with the life she and Killian have started for each other, but something always seemed to be missing. 

One night Emma joined Killian on the couch, after cleaning up from dinner. 

“Hey Killian, can I ask you a question?” She asked, her heart pounding in her chest. 

“Of course, Love.” Killian said, turning off the tv and turning towards her. 

“We are in a great place right?” Emma immediately cringing at how she was starting the conversation. 

“Yes we are. Emma, where are you going with this. “

“Killian, I was wondering if maybe we were ready to take that next step.” She admitted. 

“Next step? I’m sorry love, but you seem to have lost me. What other steps do we need to take? I mean, we are already married.” he joked. 

“Well, married couples tend to have children.” Emma whispered, but Killian caught it. 

“Emma, are you asking me, if we can start having children?” he asked, smiling. 

“Yes, I guess I am.” Emma breathed. “If you are not ready, or you don’t think we are ready then we can wait. I just wanted to put the opinion on the table.” 

“Do you think you are ready?” he asked, placing his arm around her. 

Emma nodded her head. “I think I am.” 

“Emma.” 

Emma was pulled from her memories and looked over at her porch, to find Killian standing there smiling. 

“Come on love, they are here.” 

Emma quickly got off the homemade swing and made her way inside. When she closed her sliding glass door, she heard people talking in her living room. Entering her living room, she was immediately captured in a hug by her mother. 

“Oh Emma! I have missed you!” her mother cried hugging her tight. 

“Mom, you know you are welcome here anytime. I am only an hour away. “ Emma joked.

Her mother let go, and Emma reached over and hugged her dad. 

“We would miss you, even if you lived next door.” he joked. 

Emma let go over her dad, and looked over at her friends, who were waiting for their own hugs. 

“Emma! I am so jealous of your house!” Ruby exclaimed, getting her own hug.

“You always say that.You know, you could start working on getting your own house, if you think about settling down.” Emma said.

“Ask me again next year.” Ruby joked. 

“I have to stay, married life has been treating you well.” Regina admitted, receiving her own hug. 

“You know, the house next door is for sale.” Emma laughed at Regina’s surprised face. “Unless that is too quick for you and Robin.” 

Emma then looked over at Robin who shifted uncomfortable. 

“Am I missing something?” Emma asked. 

“Is there trouble in paradise?” August joked before pulling Emma in for his own hug. “I sure have missed you girl.” 

“Actually now that you mentioned it.” Regina started, looking over at Robin. 

“Regina and I are getting married.” Robin said proudly, wrapping one arm around Regina, both of them sharing a wide grin. 

“Oh my god you guys! That is amazing. Congratulations!” Emma exclaimed, pulling them both in for another hug. 

After another round of hugs, Killian clapped his hands together. “I think this calls for celebration, we have a couple of bottles of wine in the fridge, let me grab some glasses.” 

A couple minutes later, and everyone had wine glasses in front of them, all chatting away about wedding plans for the newly engaged couple. 

While talking, Ruby noticed something about Emma’s glass. “Hey Emma, what’s with your wine glass.” 

Emma grabbed her glass tighter. “What do you mean?” 

“There are no bubbles and it's clear. Are you drinking water?” Ruby asked.

“Yeah, I am. I didn’t feel like having any wine and instead opted for water. Killian had already grabbed the wine glasses, so I just put my water in one.” Emma explained. Playing with the rip of the glass. 

“No, I’m not buying it.” Regina said. “What’s going on?” 

“Nothing, come on, this night is about you guys.” Emma insisted. 

“Wait, Emma, you invited us over because you have something important to tell us. You didn’t know about Regina and Robin until a few minutes ago.” Mary Margret explained. 

“Just tells us what's going on.” Her father insisted.

“Okay, just hold on one second. I bought gifts for everyone.” Emma said, standing up from the couch and ran upstairs. 

A few minutes later Emma came back down with six skinny boxes. She handed out the boxes to everyone except Killian. When all the boxes were given out, Emma stood next to Killian, waiting for the reactions.

Her mother was the first to unwrap the box and open it to reveal a shirt. The shirt was blue with white cursive writing  _ Promoted to Grandma.  _

Her mother quickly slammed the shirt down to her lap and gasped. “Emma! Are you pregnant?!” 

At this time everyone seemed to have unwrapped their boxes and saw their own shirts. Her father's read  _ Promoted to Grandpa.  _ Regina’s and Ruby’s read  _ World’s Best Aunt.  _ While August’s and Robin’s shirts read  _ World’s best Uncle.  _

The room seemed to have fallen silent waiting for Emma to answer. 

“Yes, I am, and we couldn’t be happier.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone to has read this story! This is a really personal story and it means to a lot! I will be editing this story a bit later to fix some grammar and spelling issues. Thank you again!


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